Chapter 25 The Conservative Tide Sec. 1 -A Conservative Movement Emerges

The Conservative Movement Builds Entitlement Programs- programs that provide guaranteed benefits to particular groups such as social security, Medicare, and Medicaid. These programs were being established and taxpayers had resentment with no trust in the government and spending 300 billion dollars annually. The New Right- an alliance of conservative interest groups concerned with cultural, social, and moral issues. Opposing abortion and blocking the Equal Rights Amendment and supporting the return of school prayer which had been outlawed in 1962 Many involved in the New Right opposed affirmative action.

Affirmative Action- a policy that seeks to correct the effects of past discrimination by favoring the groups who were previously disadvantaged. This required employers and educational institutions to give special consideration to women, African Americans, and other minority groups. Affirmative action was a form of reverse discrimination.

Reverse discrimination- unfair treatment of members of a majority group

Conservative Coalition- an alliance formed in the mid-1960’s of right-wing groups to big government. Alliance of middle class voters, business leaders, disaffected Democrats, and fundamentalists Christian groups William E Buckley- founded The Wall Street Journal and national Review in 1955 which attracted conservative intellectuals.

Religion played a key in the growing conservative coalition and people started to watch televangelists including Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. Falwell organized the Moral Majority. Focusing on “traditional values” \reversing the nation’s high divorce rate, lower number of out-of- wedlock births, encourage individual responsibility, and revive patriotic themes. Moral Majority- a political alliance of religious groups, consisting mainly of evangelical and fundamentalist Christians, that was active in the 1970’s and 1980’s, condemning liberal attitudes and behavior and raising money for conservative candidates. Ronald Reagan wins the 1980 election with Bush as his running mate over Carter and Mondale. Some key issues were Supreme Court decisions about abortion, pornography, the teaching of evolution, prayer in public schools, and the Iranian hostage crisis. Many conservatives rallied to him. “a recession is when your neighbor loses his job, a depression is when you lose yours, and a recovery is when Carter loses his.” –Reagan Section 2: Conservative Policies Under Reagan and Bush

“Reaganecomonics”- Three parts 1) budget cuts, 2) tax cuts, and 3) increased defense spending Budget Cuts- deep cuts in spending on social programs. 10% cut for programs that benefited other groups; urban mass transit, food stamps, welfare benefits, job training, Medicaid, school lunches, and student loans” Tax cuts- Reagan economics deeply relied on Supply-side economics- this is the idea that that a reduction of tax rates will lead to increasing in jobs, savings, and investments, and therefore to an increase in government revenue. Increased Defense Spending- Strategies of more military spending. Between 1981-84 the defense spending doubled. MX missile and B-1 bomber, Strategic defense Initiative “star wars” – proposed defense system intended protect the US against missile attacks.

Economy was in a recession but with Reagan economics and Gross National Product went up by 10% until the stock market crashed in 1987 but the fall was due to automated and computerized buying and selling systems. But the Market continued to recover and climb upward. National Debt climbed and the gap between rich and poor grew with tax cuts helping the rich and social programs cut hurting the poor. Sandra Day O’Connor- first woman appointed to the Supreme Court. Reagan- appointed many conservative justices but controversy broke out when law professor Anita Hill testified that newly nominated justice Clarence Thomas has sexually harassed her when she worked for him in the 1980’s. Thomas won the approval of the senate after several days of televised questioning.

Deregulation- cutting back of the federal government and regulation industry by removing price controls on oil and eliminated federal health and safety inspections for nursing homes and one of the biggest was cutting back the budget of the EPA which fought pollution. He then opened up oil and gas drilling which people felt was a environmental risk.

1984 presidential election- Reagan and Bush ran against Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro (the first woman on a major party’s presidential ticket). Reagan and Bush won by a landslide with a strong economy. 1988 presidential election- George Bush “No New Taxes” and the lowest voter turnout in 64 years successfully won the election over democratic candidate Michael Dukakis governor of Massachusetts. Section 3: Social Concerns in the 1980’s

1980’s Concerns of homeless, AIDS, drug abuse, abortion, and education caught the eye of the American People!

Health Issues AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome)-a disease caused by a virus that weakens the immune system, making the body prone to infections and otherwise rare forms of cancer. Transmitted through bodily fluids, blood transfusions, sexual intercourse, being born into infected mothers. AIDS is known to have started with homosexual partners.

Abortion Many Americans were concerned about abortion in the 1980’s since it was legalized in 1973 with Roe v Wade. Many opponents argued that life begins at conception and that no woman has the right to terminate a human life by her individual decision. Pro-choice were proponents of legalized abortion argued that it was a healthcare matter and many women had died from abortions preformed by unskilled people and in unsterile settings. Webster v Reproductive Health Care Services- 1989 court case that gave states rights to impose new restrictions on abortions.

Drug Abuse Few People argued that drugs should be legalized to reduce the power of gangs who were selling illegal drugs and others called for more treatment facilities to treat addictions. Reagan launched a war on drugs and first lady Nancy Reagan toured the country with an anti-drug campaign “Just Say NO”

Education A Nation At Risk- 1983 the federal commission revealed that American students lagged behind students from other industrialized nations with 23 million Americans were unable to fill out a job application or follow an instruction manual. The commission recommended more homework, longer school days, and an extended school year. Also increased pay for teachers and money based on merit. 1991 Bush announced America 2000 plan where he argued that choice was salvation of American public schools and recommended allowing parents to use public funds to send their children to schools of their choice (public, private, or religious). First Lady Barbra Bush toured the Country to promote reading and writing skills.

The Urban Crisis Poor people and racial minorities were left in the cities with high unemployment rates inadequate funds for sanitations and health services, deteriorating schools, and social problems. By 1992 thousands of people were homeless including children. 1992- A video tape was caught four officers beating African-American Rodney King and an all-white jury found the officers not guilty and the verdict sparked in LA resulting in 53 deaths in a span of five days.

The Equal Rights Struggle Women’s Rights Activists- women fought for 10 years to get the equal rights amendment ratified but failed. Women then fought for equality in public office. Geraldine Ferraro was the first woman chose as the Democrats VP candidate. In Nov 1992 the number of women increased in the House of Representatives from 23 to 47 and senators tripled from 2 to 6. Reagan names two women to his cabinet 1983 Margaret Heckler as secretary of Health and Human Services and Elizabeth Dole became Secretary of Transportation.

“Feminization of poverty”- women earning 75cents to every dollar of a man. Female college graduates earned only slightly more than male highs school graduates. Pay Equity- the basing of an employee’s salary on the requirements of his or her job rather than on the traditional pay scales that have frequently provided women with smaller incomes than men. This includes the amount of education required, the amount of physical strength required the number of people the employee supervises. By 1982 20 states had adjusted to this. Women also fought for maternity leave, flexible work weeks, work at home arrangements, and job sharing. Yet, the Reagan administration cut daycare program funding.

African Americans L. Douglass Wilder of Virginia became the nation’s first African-American governor in 1990 and in 1984 and 1988 Reverend Jesse Jackson ran for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Latinos Lauro Cavazos- Reagan’s Secretary of Education in 1988 and Dr. Antonia Coello Novello Surgeon General Many Latinos supported bilingual education but there was opposition stating it slowed the rate Spanish– speaking people entered mainstream American life.

Native Americans They had organized schools to teach Young Native Americans about their past and began to fight for their land that had been taken away from them. Reagan had slashed their funding so Vegas-Style casinos started popping up on reservations, which brought new wealth to Native Americans.

Asian-American Population Second fastest growing population in The US by 1992 was the Asian American population which included 8.3 million and 3.25% of the population. Unemployment was high although they have low school drop out rates, low crime rates, and low divorce rates. Gay Rights Movement Gays too wanted to be treated with respect. With the AIDS crisis it gave the Gay population a bad name but soon some states started to outlaw discrimination against Gay and Lesbians people. Section 4: Foreign Policy After the Cold War

Mikhail Gorbachev- rose to power in the Soviet Union in March of 1985 and advocated the policy known as glasnost- Russian for openness and allowed the soviet government and took steps towards freedom of the press. Gorbachev outlined his plans for perestroika- a restructuring of the Soviet Society with government having less control of the economy and steps towards a democratic government. Gorbachev also realized better relations with the US would allow Soviets to reduce their military spending and reform their economy. He initiated a series of meetings that let to the INF (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces) Treaty- which eliminated two classes of weapons systems in Europe and allowed each nation to make on-site inspections of the other’s military installations.

Gorbachev’s introduction of democratic ideals led to a dramatic increase in nationalism on the part of the Soviet Union’s non-Russian republics. In 1991 Gorbachev resigned as the Soviet President and the Soviet Union dissolved A loose federation known as the CIS commonwealth of Independent States took the place of the Soviet Union. In 1992 George Bush and Boris Yeltsin( Russian President) issued a formal statement that the cold war was over and signed the START II pact designed to cut both nations’ nuclear arsenals by two-thirds.

By 1989 many satellite nations had moved towards democracy and East Germany had opened their wall with free passage. The Wall was torn down by 1990 and free elections were held that year and two German nations were reunited.

Communism in China Tiananmen Square- the site of 1989 demonstrations in Beijing, China, in which Chinese students demanded freedom of speech and a greater voice in government. The students constructed a version of the Statue of Liberty to symbolize their struggle for democracy. China’s Premier, Le Peng ordered the military to crush the protestors where they slaughtered unarmed students. The rest of the world watched these events and the future of China was left uncertain.

Nicaragua Somoza family had ruled Nicaragua for 42 year but a revolution ended their reign and Reagan sent 83 million in aid to help the Somoza family. Sandinistas- people belonging to a leftist rebel groups that overthrew the Nicaraguan government in 1979. Contras- Nicaraguan rebels who received assistance from the Reagan administration in their efforts to overthrow the Sandinista government in the 1980’s Contras were against Sandinistas but by 1990 the Contras had grown and free elections were held. With the election of Violeta de Chamorro a Contra became leader and the Sandinistas were too weak to take over. Boland Amendment- banned military aid to the Contras for two years

Grenada US used military force to take over the island of Grenada in fear that it was developing communist ties with Cuba. Reagan sent 2,000 troops to the island and successfully took over the pro-Cuban government loosing 18 soldiers. Reagan felt it was necessary for US security.

Panama Drug trafficking was a huge issue in South America and it was spreading to the US. Bush sent more than 20,000 soldiers and marines to into panama to overthrow General Manuel Antonio Noriega. He was heavily involved in drug trafficking and taking money from the CIA. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison. Iran-Contra Scandal In 1983 Iranian terrorist took many American’s hostage until President Reagan had approved the sale of arms to Iran. Reagan’s staff sent part of the profits from the illegal arms to the Contra’s in Nicaragua which was a violation of the Boland Amendment, many of Reagan’s staff members were found guilty and fined for their actions.

Persian Gulf War Saddam Hussein-leader of Iraq invaded Kuwait for their oil rich lands to pay war debts, after looting Kuwait they headed towards Saudi Arabia and its oil fields. If they were successful they would control over half the worlds oil reserves. The US launched….. Operation Desert Storm- a 1991 military operation in which UN forces, led by the United States drove Iraqi invaders from Kuwait Operation Desert Storm was launched on January 16, 1991, then on February 21, Saudi Arabia was liberated. Cease fire occurred on Feb 28th. Fewer than 400 causalities but more complaints that chemicals used were harming veterans. Iraq suffered 100,000 deaths and following many Iraqi children suffered from cholera, typhoid and enteritis outbreaks.

Bush’s Domestic Policies Bush was failing on the domestic front while having success in the Gulf. Recession was rising and Bush had to raise taxes despite his campaign. His approval Percentage fell 49%. Bush’s presidency came to an end.