Shifting the Judicial Balance Pollution-Control Equipment and to Reduce Reagan Did Not Apply His Conservative Ideas Safety Checks on Chemicals and Pesticides

Home , A Time for Choosing

Sandra Day O'Connor 1930- When a Supreme Court vacancy opened up in 1981, President Reagan chose Sandra Day O'Connor, an Arizona appeals court judge. Unlike many Supreme Court justices, O'Connor had broad political experience. Appointed to a state senatorial vacancy in 1969, she successfully ran for the seat and became the state senate's first woman majority leader in 1972. O'Connor won election as a superior court judge in 1974 and was later appointed to the court of appeals. O'Connor's nomination was opposed by the Moral Majority because she had supported the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), and had refused to back an anti-abortion amendment, or criticize the ... (Above photo) From left, front row are decision in Roe v. Wade. Others, however. praised her legal judgment Th urgood Marshall; William Brennan, ir.; and conservative approach to the law. As a moderate conservative, William Rehnquist; Byron Wh ite; and she quickly became an important swing vote on the Court, between Harry Blackmun. Back row from left are Antonin Scalia; John Paul Stevens; Sandra more liberal and more conservative justices. Day O'Connor; and Anthony M. Kennedy. Why do you think that O'Connor supported the Equal (Right photo) Robert Bork failed to be Rights Amendment? confirmed.

Reagan's secretary of the interior, James except those from Mondale's home state of Watt, increased the public land that companies Minnesota and the District of Columbia. . could use for oil drilling, mining, and logging. Watt's actions angered environmentalists, as did the EPA's decision to ease regulations on Shifting the Judicial Balance pollution-control equipment and to reduce Reagan did not apply his conservative ideas safety checks on chemicals and pesticides. only to the economy. He also tried to bring a In 1983 the economy began to recover. By strict constructionist outlook to the federal 1984, the United States had begun the biggest judiciary. Reagan wanted judges who f Uowed economic expansion in its history up to that the original intent of th Constitution. He also' time. The median income of families climbed changed the Supreme Court by nominating steadily, rising 15 percent by 1989. Five million anma Day O'Connor, the firs t woman on the new businesses and 20 million new jobs were Supreme Court. . . d created. By 1988, unemployment had fallen to In 1986 Quef Justice Warren l3urg < r r tIre . e 5.5 percent, the lowest in 14 years. Reagan cbose th most conselvati e ssocia l 1 justice, W1JJjam Rehnql1ist, to succe d hi:.11 . ; e Reagan Wins Reelection By 1984, the then named Antonin Scalia, a cons rva tIve, 0 economic recovery had made Reagan very fill Rehnquist's vacancy. In 1987 his attempt to popular. Democrats nominated Jimmy Carter's put Robert Bork on tIL · Court .led La a bitter vice president, Walter Mondale. He< chose as l1ght in the S nate. Democrats saw Bork as. tOO his running mate Representative Geraldine conservative and blocked his COJlfjnl1 ati~· Ferraro, the first woman nominated to run for Reagan th en nominated AntI, ny .L< cllJ1 7 t. ~ vice president for a major party. Instead of soCla a moderate, to become the new a S arguing issues with his opponent, Reagan justice. emphaSized the good economy. In an over . Iy-s ide whelming landslide, he won about 59 percent Reading Check Explaining Wh at IS su pp of the popular vote and all the electoral votes economics?

750 Chapter 22 Resu rgen ce of Con servatism April 14, 1986. The raids killed 37 and injured lIeagan Oversees a about 200. Reagan's military buildup created new jobs lVIilitary Buildup in defense industries. Supply-side economists ".W1nm President Reagan began a massive had predicted that, despite the spending, lower military buildup to weaken the Soviet economy and taxes combined with cuts in government pro deter Soviet aggression. grams would generate enough growth to IIISTORY AND YOU Do you remember President increase tax revenues and balance the budget. ~i5 e nhower's warning about the military as Tax revenues did rise, but other programs were ne left office? Read to learn how President too popular for Reagan to cut significantly. As Reaga n sought to use military power to defeat the a result, the annual budget deficit went from soviets. ------$80 billion to over $200 billion. Reagan also adopted a new foreign policy that rejected both containment and detente. The Reagan Doctrine He called the Soviet Union"an evil empire."In his view, the United States should not negoti Reagan also believed that the United States ate with or try to contain evil. It should try to should support guerrilla groups who were defeat it. fighting to overthrow Communist or pro Soviet governments. This policy became known as the Reagan Doctrine. This doctrine led "Peace Through Strength" to involvement in places as geographically diverse as Africa's Angola, Middle America's In Reagan's opinion, the only option open Nicaragua and Grenada, and the Middle East's to the United States in dealing with the Afghanistan and Lebanon. Soviet Union was "peace through strength" a phrase he used during his campaign. The Aid to the Afghan Rebels Perhaps the military buildup Reagan launched was the most visible example of the Reagan Doctrine largest peacetime buildup in American history. was in Afghanistan. In late December 1979 the It cost about $1.5 trillion over five years. Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to support Reagan believed that, if the Soviets tried to a Soviet-backed government. The Soviets soon match the American buildup, it might put so found themselves fighting Afghan guerrillas much pressure on their economy that they known as the mujahadeen. would be forced to reform their system or it President Carter sent about $30 million in would collapse. In 1982 Reagan told students military aid to the Afghan guerrillas, but at Eureka College that Soviet defense spend Reagan sent $570 million more. The Soviets ing would eventually cause the Communist were soon trapped in a situation similar to the sys!em to fall apart: American experience in Vietnam. As casual ties mounted, the war strained the Soviet PruMARY SOURCE economy, and in 1988 the Soviets decided to "The Soviet empire is faltering because rigid cen withdraw. tralized control has destroyed incentives for innova ~ion, efficiency, and individual achievement. ... But Nicaragua and Grenada Reagan was also In th e midst of social and economic problems, the concerned about Soviet influence in Nicaragua. SOViet dictatorship has forged the largest armed Rebels known as the Sandinistas had over force in the world. It has done so by preempting thrown a pro-American dictator in Nicaragua the human needs of its people and in the end, this in 1979. The Sandinistas set up a socialist gov course will undermine the foundations of the Soviet ernment and accepted Cuban and Soviet aid. sYstem." They then began aiding rebels in nearby El -from A Time for Choosing Salvador. The Reagan administration re sponded by secretly arming an anti-Sandinista f The United States also tri ed to stop nations guerrilla force known as the contras, from the 'tom ~pporting terrorism. After Libya backed Spanish word for 11 counterrevolutionary." When ~ terrorlst bambi ng (n Berlin, the United Congress learned of this policy, it banned fur ta.tes launched an air attack on Libya on ther aid to the contras.

Chapter 22 Resurgence of Conservatism 751 -- PRIMARY SOURCE Reagan's

President Reagan launched a massive weapons buildup, believing it would weaken the Soviet Union. He also provided aid to Afghan rebels fighting Soviet forces and engaged in a series of meetings with the Soviet leader that produced a nuclear arms treaty (at right).

1. Contrasting What contradictions do the photos seem to suggest about Reagan's policies? How can you reconcile them? 2. Evaluating Why might a president want to make a public speech demanding another nation change its behavior? Why might it be effective?

Aiding the contras was not Reagan's only Iran-Contra scandal was Marine colonel action in Latin America. In 1983 radical Marxists Oliver North, an aide to the National Security overthrew the left-wing government on the Council (NSC). He and other senior NSC and island of Grenada. In October, Reagan sent in CIA officials testified before Congress and American troops, who quickly defeated the admitted to covering up their actions. Cuban and Grenadian soldiers. A new anti President Reagan had approved the sale of Communist government was put in place. arms to Iran, but the congressional investiga tion concluded that he had had no direct The Iran-Contra Scandal Although knowledge about the diversion of the money Congress had prohibited aid to the Nicaraguan to the contras. The scandal tainted his second contras, individuals in Reagan's administration term in office. continued to illegally support the rebels. They secretly sold weapons to Iran, considered an enemy and sponsor of terrorism, in exchange Arms Control for the release of American hostages being held As part of the military buildup, Reagan in the Middle East. These hostages were taken decided to place missiles in Western Europe to by the Hezbollah terrorist group because the c unter Soviet missiles in Eastern Europe. ThI~ United States was supporting Israel's involve d asian b:igg red tens of thousands 0 ment in Lebanon's civil war. Profits from these protesters to push for a "nuclear freeze"-I1o sales were then sent to the contras. more deployment of new nuclear missiles. f News of the illegal operations broke in Reagan offered to cancel the deployment ~ November 1986. One of the chief figures in the the new missiles if the Soviets removed theIr

752 Chapter 22 Resurgence of Conservatism )11issiles from Eastern Europe. He also proposed Str~tegic Arms Reduction Talks (START) to cut the number of mISSIles on both sides in half. The Soviets refused and walked out of the arms control talks.

"star Wars" Despite his decision to deploy missiles in Europe, Vocabulary R agan generany disagreed with th militmy strategy kn wn a 1. Explain the significance of: supply-side J1uclear deterrence, sometimes caUed "mutual assured destruc economics, Reaganomics, budget deficit, tion." This shat gy assumed that, as long as the United States Iran-Contra scandal, "mutual assured and Soviet Uoi n caul destroy eacb other with nucl ar weap destruction," Mikhail Gorbachev. Oil S, they would bc afraid to us them. Reagan beHeved th at mutual assm-cd destruction was immora ~ ~ Main Ideas beca use it depend.ed all til e threat to kill massive numbers 01' 2. Specifying What political office did people. H , also knew that if ~uclear war cUd begin, th; re would Ronald Reagan hold before he was be 11 way to d fend th Untted States. in March 1983 Reagan elected president? proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative (SD!). This pla.n, nick na01 d "Star Wars," eaUed for the development of W · apons that 3. Explaining How did Reagan aim to could intercept and destroy incoming missiles. change the Supreme Court?

A New Soviet leader In 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev became 4. Summarizing What was the goal of the the leader of the Soviet Union and agreed to resume arms U.S. military buildup under President control talks. Gorbachev believed that the Soviet Union had to Reagan? reform its economic system or it would soon collapse. It could not Critical Thinking afford a new arms race with the United States. Reagan and Gorbachev met in a series of summits. The first of 5. Big Ideas What was President Reagan's these was frustrating for both, as they disagreed on many issues. approach to foreign policy? Gorbachev promised to cut back Soviet nuclear forces if Reagan 6. Organizing Use a graphic organizer would agree to give up SDI, but Reagan refused. similar to the one below to list the ways Reagan then challenged Gorbachev to make reforms. In West in which the Reagan Doctrine was Berlin, Reagan stood at the Brandenburg Gate of the Berlin Wall, implemented. the symbol of divided Europe, and declared: "General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe ... tear down this wall!"

Relations Improve By 1987, Reagan was convinced that Gorbachev did want to reform the Soviet Union and end the arms race. While some politicians distrusted the Soviets, most 1. Analyzing Visuals Study the political people welcomed the Cold War thaw and the reduction in the cartoons on page 747. How do the car danger of nuclear war. In December 1987 the two leaders signed toons portray Rea gan and Carter? the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. It was the first treaty to call for the destruction of nuclear weapons. Writing About History No one realized it at the time, but the treaty marked the begin 8. Expository Writing Take on the role of ning of the end of the Cold War. With an arms control deal in a newspaper editor during the Reagan place, Gorbachev felt confident that Soviet military spending administration. Write an editorial in which Could be reduced. He pushed ahead with economic and political you present your opinion of Reagan's reforms that -ventuaUy led to the collapse of communism in plans for a military buildup. Eastern Europe and in the Soviet Union. With the economy booming, the American military strong, and relations with the Soviet Union rapidly improving, Ronald Reagan's SeCond term came to an end. As he prepared to leave office, Reagan ~ssessed his presidency://They ca lled it tbe Reagan revolu-Hon. Well, I II accept that, but for me it always seemed [narc like th ~ great rediscovery, a rediscovelY of our vaJ.ue and Ollr common sense." Study Central™ To review this section, go to gJenc,oe.co,,!, and click on Study Central. _'@I;;;_ Identifying What was the Reagan Doctrine?

153