9.2 President Reagan & Conservatism: 

Election Of 1980:

• Incumbent President Carter.

• Republican Ronald Reagan.

• “New Right” & conservative Republicans came together to build a powerful vote.

• Reagan victory became a milestone.

Reagan Revolution:

• Iranian hostages were released just hours after President Reagan’s administration took over.

• On a campaign to limit government enactment tax cuts, & to continue to deregulate industries.

  • Proposition 13: California “tax revolt”.

  • Major budget cuts in social programs lie food stamps or job training programs.

• Supported by boll weevils (Democrats who abandoned their own party). 

“Reaganomics”:

• Supply-side economics: Massive income tax reductions.

  • Instead, use a strict budget & tax reduction to stimulate new investment, productivity, & growth.

• Resulted in the most severe depression since the 1930’s.

• Slow recovery in 1983.

• Black Monday (October 19th, 1987): A day in which the stock market plunged, striking fear into Americans. 

Election Of 1984:

• Incumbent Republican President Reagan.

• Democrat Walter Mondale.

  • Vice running mate Geraldine Ferraro.

• Massive Reagan victory. 

Foreign Affairs:

• Trouble between Lebanon, Palestine, & Israel.

  • American troops were sent in to restore peace, but resulted in failure.

  • 200 troops were killed by a suicide bomber in October 1983.

• Trouble in Nicaragua.

  • Revolutionary Sandinistas opposed the US.

  • Support to Latin American countries, especially El Salvador.

  • Support for rebel contras in Nicaragua.

• Secret dealings with both of these situations later landed President Reagan in the hot seat (Iran-Contra Affair). 

The Religious Right:

• Conservative, Evangelical Christians who became heavily involved in politics.

  • “Moral Majority”.

  • Televangelists preached against sexual permissiveness, abortion, feminism, & gay rights.

• Response to the liberalism of the 1960’s.

Conservatism In The Courts:

• President Reagan appointed three Supreme Court justices.

  • Sandra Day O’Connor, the first female Supreme Court justice.

• Limited affirmative action.

• Limited abortion access.

Election Of 1988:

• Democrat Michael Dukakis.

• Republican George H.W. Bush.

  • Platform of tax cuts, strong defense policies, toughness on crime, opposition to abortion, & economic expansion.

• Massive victory for Bush.

Persian Gulf War:

• Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait.

• The US sent massive international deployment to the Persian Gulf region.

  • Missile attacks.

  • “Operation Desert Storm”.

  • Kuwait was liberated.

• It entrenched the US deeper in Middle Eastern foreign politics.

9.3 End Of The Cold War:

US Opposition To Communism:

• Limited negotiation with the USSR.

• Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI): an initiative to use battle stations in space to take out potential missiles.

• Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the USSR in 1985.

  • Glasnost: “Openness” of the Soviet society and government.

  • Perestroika: Restructuring of economy & political systems. 

• Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty: a treaty that made intermediate-range missiles banned from Europe. 

End Of The Cold War:

• In November 1989, the Berlin Wall was torn down.

• Eastern and Western Germany were reunited in October 1990.

• The USSR dissolved, finally concluding the Cold War and ending four decades of tension between the Soviet Union and the US.

  • 15 separate nations, with Russia at its head.

Diplomacy Afterwards:

• Peacekeeping efforts.

• US military interventions.

• Debates over American power in the world.

President Bush’s Home Front:

• American With Disabilities Act (ADA): an act that prohibited discrimination against people with mental or physical disabilities.

• Nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court.

Election Of 1992:

• Incumbent President Bush.

  • Poor economy.

• Democrat Bill Clinton.

  • Formation of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), to move the party towards growth, strong defense, and anti-crime.

• Clinton victory, largely thanks to minority groups.

President Clinton’s Home Front:

• Election of Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the Supreme Court in 1993.

• “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Policy for gay and lesbian people in the military.

• Health care plan failure.

• Anti-Crime Bill.

• Oklahoma City Bombing, killing 168 people in 1995.

• Anti-Government Sentiment.

• Massive congressional Republican wins in 1994 (“Contract With America” Platform). 

  • Welfare Reform Bill.

• Took on more of a moderate approach to appeal to more voters.

• 1992 Los Angeles Race Riots.

• Increase in feminism.

• Dissolution of the nuclear family. 

President Clinton’s Foreign Affairs:

• North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

• World Trade Organization.

• Tensions in the Middle East.

• Rwandan Genocide.

President Clinton’s Impeachment:

• Accused of lying about his affair with Monica Lewinsky under oath.

• He was found not guilty.

• Left with a mixed legacy. 

9.4 A Changing Economy:

Election of 2000:

• Democratic candidate Al Gore.

• Republican nominee George W. Bush.

• Extremely close election.

  • Five week standoff to recount votes in Florida.

• Gore won the popular vote, but Bush won the electoral college.

President Bush:

• Inherited economic problems.

  • “The Great Recession”.

  • Massive tax cuts increased the federal budget deficit.

• Kyoto Treaty: a treaty that put a limit on greenhouse gas emissions shot down by President Bush.

• Divisiveness between liberals and conservatives. 

  • Healthcare.

  • Welfare.

  • Stem cell research.

• No Child Left Behind.

• Poor responses to national crises, such as Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.

Economic Productivity & Problems:

• Improvements in digital communications.

• Increased participation in a worldwide economy.

• Increased in service sectors.

• Decreased in manufacturing.

• Decline of union membership.

• Stagnation of wages in lower and middle classes.

• Growing economic inequality.

Technological Innovation:

• Computers.

• Phones.

• The internet.

• Transformed daily life.

• Increased access to information.

• Led to new social behaviors.

• Opened up new networks.

9.6 21st Century Challenges:

September 11th, 2001:

• Terrorist attack by Al Qaeda led to the deaths of almost 3,000 Americans.

• Triggered invasion of Afghanistan & war on terrorism.

  • Osama Bin Laden, leader of Islamic Fundamentalist Group (The Taliban).

War On Terrorism:

• Designed to protect the US.

• USA Patriot Act: an act that allowed extensive phone & email surveillance, as well as deportation of immigrants suspected of terrorism.

• Creation of the Department Of Homeland Security.

• Imprisonment of hundreds of Taliban fighters in Guantanamo Bay.

• Raised questions on civil liberties & human rights. 

• President Bush’s claim of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq led to invasion.

• Sunni & Shia Muslims attacked American troops.

• Public knowledge of Iraqi prisoners being tortured at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad.

• Led to widespread Iraqi hatred of Americans. 

Election Of 2008:

• Democrat Barack Obama.

  • Ran on a platform to end the divisiveness of the Bush administration.

  • His campaign was boosted by the collapse of the housing market.

• Republican John McCain.

• Historic victory for Obama.

President Obama:

• American Recovery & Reinvestment Act.

  • Stimulus bill.

• Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act. 

  • Healthcare.

• Wall Street Reform & Consumer Protection Act.

  • Overhaul on the financial system.

• Attempted to wind down the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, slowly withdrawing troops. 

Immigration & Migration:

• Influx of immigrants from Latin America & Asia.

• Legal vs illegal immigrants.

• The border crisis. 

21st Century Inequality:

• Between wealthy and lower classes.

  • “Occupy Wall Street”.

The Environment:

• Conflicts in the Middle East.

• Concerns over climate change.

• US dependence on fossil fuels.

• The effect of consumption on the environment. 

Civil Rights:

• Illegal immigration.

• Gay marriage.

• Racial tensions.