The 1980sThe Reagan Revolution

The Election of 1980: Carter v. ReaganJimmy Carter Ronald Reagan

• Inflation• Oil Shock- High oil prices• In a recession• Unemployment up to 8%• Soviet Invasion of

Afghanistan• Iranian Hostage Crisis

• Offered hope for the economy

• Offered a build-up of American forces to stop Soviet Union

“Are you better off now then you were four years ago?”

State of the Economy in 1981

•Interest rates were 20%•Value of dollar was 36 cents

•Reagan blamed it on the government▫Excessive taxes▫High government spending

Supply Side Economics• Lower corporate income

taxes▫ Would mean a greater

profit▫ Would invest more

• Effects of lower corporate taxes▫ Costs go down for the

business▫ Can invest in new

technology Make items more

productively▫ Can hire more people

Businesses will hire new employees

Businesses will make more profit

Lower Corporate Income Tax

Decrease in government spending•Did not touch popular programs

▫Social Security▫Medicare

•Cut 41 Billion dollars in spending▫Food stamps▫Reduced public service jobs▫Reduced student loans▫Reduced support for city mass transit

(public buses)

Private Sector is rejuvenated

•Policy of Deregulation is to rely on marketplace to direct nation’s economy

•Upset Environmentalists▫Opened land to coal and timber production▫Halted growth of American parkland▫Billion acres opened for off shore drilling

•Rid the automobile industry of many regulations

•Negotiated with Japan to lower exports and save Detroit

PATCO: Air Traffic Controllers• Strike in the summer of

1981• Reagan states “protective

services are the government’s reason for being “

• Reagan took action▫ Fired striking workers▫ Decertified the Union▫ Trained thousands of new

air traffic controllers at a cost of $1.3 billion

Mixed reviews on Civil Rights• Strong rhetoric against Roe

v. Wade decision that legalized abortion

• Did appoint first woman to Supreme Court with Sandra Day O’Connor

• 72 nominees to federal courts▫ 12 were women▫ 3 were Black

• Openly opposed school busing mandated by Swann v. Charlotte Mecklenburg

• Openly against affirmative action

Reagan and Foreign Policy• First day in office,

hostages from Iran were set fee

• Doubled defense spending▫ Expansion of navy▫ B-1 bombers▫ MX nuclear missiles

• Hard line on “Evil Empire”▫ Placed 572 Pershing II

missiles in western Europe pointing to Moscow and other large cities

▫ Complained only had 10 minutes of reaction time

Star Wars• (SDI) the Strategic

Defense Initiative• Anti Missile system• Used lasers and particle

beams to destroy incoming missiles in outer space

• Critics believed it would cause the Soviet Union to build quicker and more efficient missiles

• Each side had a build up of 50,000 missiles

South American Leadership: Who do we support?• Reagan perceived that the

Soviet Union was supporting communism in South America

• Conditions in South America▫ Extremes of wealth

Small landowning elite Masses of poverty

stricken• U.S. wished to support a

modern middle class regime that did not exist

• Ended up backing right wing dictators rather than support land reform and redistribution of wealth

The U.S. and Nicaragua• Sandinistas were

successful in the overthrow of the Somoza government

• Sandinistas were left winged

• Carter extended aid • Reagan reversed policy• Accused Sandinistas of

driving out moderates, and turning toward Cuba and Soviet Union

• Reagan asked Congress to oust Sandinistas

• Congress said no• Reagan opted for covert

action

The United States backs the Contras

• Contras were rebels of the Sandinistas

• They were exiles in Honduras and Costa Rica

• Began supplying weapons to Contras

• Actions of the Contras▫ Attempted to disrupt the

Nicaraguan economy▫ Raiding villages▫ Blowing up oil tanks▫ Blowing up mining harbors

• Congress passed the Boland Amendment▫ U.S. could not spend money

in Central America

Trouble in the Middle East• Israel honored Camp David

Accords• Withdrew from Sinai

Peninsula• Reagan wanted a homeland

for the Palestinian Arabs on the West Bank, Israel did not comply

• PLO (Palestine Liberation Force) continued to make attempts to raid Israel from Lebanon

• June 1882, Israel invades Lebanon to destroy the PLO

• U.S. did not stop invasion, but did not send troops

Middle Eastern Trouble Spots

U.S. Marines deployed to Lebanon• Sent as a peace keeping

mission• A multinational force is

deployed to restore order• Muslims perceived the

Marines were aiding the Christian government of Lebanon, instead of being peace-keepers

• Congress wanted Marines pulled out

• Reagan said NO, the Marines were there to protect Lebanon from Syria (backed by Soviets)

U.S. Marines in Lebanon• Terrorists drive a truck

loaded with bombs into barracks

• 239 Marines die• President pulls out• Last marine leaves Beirut

in February 1984• Leaves President

humiliated

1984 ElectionRonald Reagan Walter Mondale

• Voters give Reagan credit for:▫ Curbing inflation▫ Reviving economy▫ Challenging communism

• Geraldine Ferraro of New York was first female on the national ticket

Iran Arms Deal• Trade weapons for

hostages• 6 American hostages were

being held in Lebanon by group of terrorists loyal to Ayatollah Khomeini

• National Security Advisor Robert McFarlane proposed trading anti-tank missiles in return for the hostages release

• Iran complied because of war with Iraq

Iran-Contra Affair• Oliver North was the LT

Colonel assigned to the National Security Council

• New Security Advisor Casey decides to send TOW anti-tank missiles and HAWK anti-aircraft missiles to Iran

• Searching for a way to help Contras after the Boland Amendment

• North solicited donations from right-wing Americans

• Used profits from sale of weapons to Iran to fund Contras

War on Drugs• Nancy Regan’s “Just say

No” campaign• I learned it by watching Yo

u

Reagan and Gorbachev• Mikhail Gorbachev was a

young, dynamic leader• Wanted to improve relations

with U.S.• Gorbachev wanted changes

at home▫ Perestroika- reconstruct

economy▫ Glasnost- political openness

• Agreed to the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty▫ Removed all intermediate

range missiles from Europe• Soviets withdrew from

Afghanistan