Rise of the Conservative Movement
- Rise of Berry Goldwater in the 1964 election
- Reaction to:
- New Deal liberalism and welfare state
- Feminism
- Legalization of abortion
  - Roe v. Wade - 1973
- Sexual Revolution
- Expansion of gay rights
- Affirmative action policies
- Drug use
- Belief that these issues were undermined
- Family and religious values
- Work ethic
- National security
- “Moral Majority” movement, founded by Reverend Jerry Falwell
- Rise of the “religious right”
Election of 1980
- Election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 was an important milestone for the conservative movement
- New Right
  - Opposed to a large federal government
- Conservatives argued against liberal programs
- Opposed government entitlement spending
  - Felt counterproductive in fighting poverty and stimulation of economic growth
Reagan and the Economy
- Reagan favored supply-side economics
- Reaganomics
- Enacted significant tax cuts for the rich
- Idea of trickle-down economics
- Supported deregulation of many industries
- Union membership continued to decline
- Loss of manufacturing jobs
- Anti-union policies
- Federal budget was not balanced
- Increased defense spending and tax cuts
Reagan’s Foreign Policy
- Reagan asserted U.S. opposition to communism
- Speeches
- Evil Empire Speech
- Limited Military Interventions
- Grenada
- Diplomatic Efforts
- The relationship with Mikhail Gorbachev led to a relaxation of tensions
- Military spending
- Increased
- Proposed Strategic Defense Initiative
  - Star Wars
Reagan Doctrine
- 1979 Nicaragua
- A Marxist group known as the Sandinista led a revolt against pro-American right-wig dictatorship
- Reagan administration provided military aid to the Contras in their fight against the Sandinistas
- Boland Amendment prevented further aid to the contras
- Grenada
- Pro-Cuban regime came to power after a coup
  - 1983
  - Reagan sent a small force of marines to return the pro-U.S. government to power
- Iran-Contra Affair
- Weapon sales to Iran funded Contras in Nicaragua
  - Illegal since it violated the Boland Amendment
  - Embarrassed, the Reagan administration
U.S. and the Soviet Union
- Mikhail Gorbachev began a series of reforms
- Glasnost
  - Openness
  - Greater political freedom
- Perestroika
  - Slowly implemented capitalist reforms
- Soviets pulled back in places such as Eastern Europe
- Arms control agreements
- 1987
  - Intermediate-Range nuclear forces Treaty
End of the Cold War
- Factors
- Political and economic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe
- Increased U.S. military spending
- Reagan’s diplomatic initiatives
- Dissolution of Soviet Union in 1991
George W. Bush
- Elected in 1988
- Persian Gulf War
- In 1990 Iraq, under the leadership of Saddam Hussein, invaded Kuwait
  - U.S. led coalition removed Iraqi troops and liberated Kuwait
Conservative Supreme Court
- Contrast with the decisions of the Warren Court
- Conservative Sandra Day O’Connor, nominated to Supreme Court in 1981
- First woman