The+Conservative+Revolution+(1981-1991)

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=I. Politics= media type="youtube" key="YtYdjbpBk6A" height="344" width="425"media type="youtube" key="FXY1BL8hqNo" height="344" width="425"
 * A. Republican Barry Goldwater lost 1964 election, but his campaign laid down the ground work for a rebirth of conservationism[[image:goldwater.jpg width="232" height="319" align="right" caption="Barry Goldwater revives conservative era"]]
 * 1. terms led by Nixon and Ford and ideas presented by Milton Friedman, William Buckley Jr., and others hinted a movement toward right-minded thinking
 * B. 1976—Conservative Republicans choose Ronald Reagan as their candidate and he campaigns as a “true conservative”
 * 1. Reagan lost to Democrat Jimmy Carter
 * C. Support system
 * 1. by 1980, conservationism had an extensive group of supporters in all areas of American society
 * a. political conservatives (Republicans in govt)
 * b. political action committees (PACs); opposed to…
 * 1) Big government
 * 2) New Deal liberalism
 * 3) Gun control
 * 4) Feminism
 * 5) Gay rights
 * 6) Welfare
 * 7) Affirmative action
 * 8) Sexual permissiveness
 * 9) Abortion
 * 10) Drug use
 * c. all of these were diminishing “family and religious values, the worth ethic, and national security”
 * D. Election of 1980
 * 1. Ronal Reagan ran against Jimmy Carter and won by a landslide (489 to 49 electoral votes)
 * 2. During Reagan’s campaign, he attacked the Democratic “big-government” solutions to problems
 * 3. And because of the huge increase of unemployment, Regan would ask, “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?”
 * E. Regan Presidency[[image:ronaldreagan.jpg width="240" height="300" align="right" caption="Ronald Reagan"]]
 * 1. Republicans gained control of the senate for the first time since 1954
 * 2. Major goals:
 * a. provide tax cuts to repair the quick economic expansion of the U.S.
 * b. reduce government spending on welfare
 * c. strengthen and bulk U.S. armed forces
 * d. create a more conservative federal court
 * 3. Foreign Policy
 * a. wanted to increase U.S. international prestige and increase Cold War competition with Soviet Union
 * 1) proposed a defense system: Strategic Defense Initiative
 * a) proposal to develop technology that allows creation of a “space-based” defensive missile shield surrounding U.S
 * b. Soviet Union= “focus of evil in the modern world”
 * c. Reagan spent money on anticommunist forces in Latin America
 * 1) CIA set up //contras// (Nicaraguan military force) to oppose the Nicaraguan Marxist government
 * d. With his foreign policy, U.S. encountered many disagreements with the Middle East
 * 1) CIA openly sent aid to anticommunist forces in Afghanistan (these forces, however, were opponents to the contras, whom the U.S. were currently supporting)
 * 2) Iran-contra Affair
 * a) scandal in Reagan administration à  U.S. covertly sold arms to Iran (who were accused of holding American hostages), and used the $ to fund the contras in their attempts to overthrow their govt
 * e. End of Cold War
 * 1) 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became new leader of Soviet, and he implemented two reforms:
 * a) //glansot// (no longer secluded à  attempt to move toward political freedom for nation)
 * b) //perestroika// (introduced some free-market practices à  reorganize Soviet economy)
 * 2) 1987, made progress by agreeing with Reagan to remove and destroy all intermediate-rang miss[[image:41-georgebush_1.jpg width="210" height="241" align="right" caption="George H. W. Bush"]]iles
 * 3) 1988, relieved more pressure by pulling troops out from Afghanistan where Soviet troops were stationed
 * F. Election of 1988
 * 1. George H. Bush won over Democratic nominee, Dukakis, by accusing him on weak national defense; he also promised absolutely no raises in taxes
 * G. George H. Bush Presidency
 * 1. International movement
 * a. 1989, in Tiananmen Square (China), students protesting for democracy created an uproar in the nation; protest suppressed by Chinese Communist government, who brought in tanks and killed hundreds of protestors (event broadcasted across western world)
 * b. Communism began to fall all over eastern Europe when Gorbachev announced he would no longer support Communist govt with Soviet forces
 * 1) Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, and East Germany
 * a) 1989, the Berlin Wall was torn down between East and West Germany
 * 2) 1991, Bush and Gorbachev signed the START I agreement that reduced amount of nuclear weapons to less than 10,000 per side
 * c. 1990, Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, invades Kuwait and threatens oil sources in Persian Gulf
 * 1) UN attempts to put pressure on Iraq to leave Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, but they resist
 * 2) 1991, Desert Storm (air forces from U.S. and 28 other nations attack Iraq from air, and U.S. land forces quickly force Iraq to surrender)

=II. Economics= >>>> >>>>
 * A. “Reaganomics”[[image:80_rg_a.jpg width="395" height="210" align="right" caption="government spending emphazized on national defense"]]
 * 1. Reagan’s administration employed supply-side economics
 * a. tax cuts à  reduced govt spending  à  “investment by the private sector”  à  increased production, jobs, and prosperity
 * b. this method contrasted Keynesian economics, which the Democrats favored
 * c. critics related Reagan’s method to the “trickle-down” economics taking place in the 1920s
 * 1) upper class Americans profited and some of their profits and spending benefited the lower classes
 * d. Federal Tax Reduction
 * 1) huge amounts of tax relief to upper-income taxpayers
 * 2) small investors were able to invest up to $2000 a year in Individual Retirement Accounts without paying taxes on the invested money
 * e. Spending Cuts
 * 1) Republicans cut over $40 billion from domestic programs (food stamps, student loans, and mass transportation)
 * 2) Spending is counteracted by increased military spending
 * 2. because of huge tax cuts and increased military spending the national debt went from $900 billion to roughly $2.7 trillion
 * a. tax cuts increased consumption of foreign products rather than stimulate investments
 * 1) so U.S. trade deficit reached about $150 billion per year
 * 2) this increased purchase of U.S. real estate by foreigners
 * b. 1985, Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Balanced Budget Act was passed
 * 1) entailed huge spending cuts to reduce debt
 * 2) In two years, Congress reduced deficit to $66 billion
 * 3. Results of Reaganomics
 * a. Because of the huge deficits produced by Reagan’s policy, it became futile for either Democrats or Republicans to present new social programs to the nation (i.e. universal health coverage)
 * b. It was the first time since time around World War I that the U.S. was in national debt[[image:50_80_stockP.gif align="right"]][[image:70_80_excr.gif align="right"]]
 * B. 1982 Recession (worst recession since 1930s)
 * 1. Banks closed
 * 2. Unemployment rate reached 11%
 * 3. 1983, U.S. entered year long recovery
 * a. Recovery widened the rich-poor gap
 * b. Middle-class recovery regained total losses mid 90’s

=III. Religion=
 * A. The conservative revolution was a return to traditional values centered around religious principles
 * 1. Support came from right-wing evangelical Christians
 * a. Branch of Protestantism emphasizing “born-again” religious revival
 * b. Strict interpretation of the Bible
 * 2. Evangelicalism (concentration in fundamentalist sects) became popular
 * a. Denounced “moral relativism of liberals”
 * b. Prominent evangelical figures
 * 1) Billy Graham
 * 2) Jerry Falwell
 * 3) Pat Robertson
 * c. Came together to form a movement called the New Right, which player a bigger role in the Ronald Reagan election (1980) and in 1994 when Republicans regained control of both houses from President Clinton

=IV. Social Aspects=
 * A. Reagan’s Administration was against labor unions
 * 1. Developed various antiunion policies that quickened the decline of labor union membership
 * 2. Recession and foreign competition reduced workers’ wages
 * B. Social Issues
 * 1. Reagan began placing far more conservative judges to federal courts, just as promised
 * a. Nominated Sandra Day O’Connor, Antonin Scalia, and Anthony Kennedy to the Supreme Court; under a new chief justice, William Rehnquist
 * b. Supreme Court reduced affirmative action in the workplace
 * c. Limited court case, Roe v. Wade à  permitted states to impose restrictions on abortion (mandating the notification of a minor’s parents before having an abortion
 * 2. Great emphasis on the roles of men and women
 * a. Traditional values
 * b. Nuclear family
 * c. Separate spheres

=V. Intellectual Aspects=
 * A. The 1980s was a time when everyone was doing everything possible to better their status
 * 1. It was all about “Me! Me! Me!”
 * B. Movie-making and big companies were money-makers at the time
 * 1. At least 20 million people went to the movies every week
 * a. ET
 * b. Sixteen Candles
 * c. The Goonies
 * d. Die Hard
 * e. The Terminator
 * f. Back to the Future
 * g. The Breakfast Club
 * 2. several of today’s wealthiest people began earning their fame and fortune in the 80s (Donald Trump, Bill Gates)[[image:378641553_62005be599.jpg width="345" height="271" align="right" caption="Microsoft Company in 1978 (Bill Gates, at age 23, sits at bottom left"]]
 * a. in 1980, the Microsoft company was restructured and Gates was made the president of the company
 * b. in 1985, the company came out with its first version of Microsoft Windows and made deals with IBM to create an operating system, OS/2
 * 3. there was a rush of money into the stock market as people began to buy and sell shares and began making investments
 * C. Some great fictional books were published as well
 * 1. Tim O’Brien à  //The Things They Carried// in 1990 about the Vietnam War
 * 2. Toni Morrison à  //Beloved// in 1987 about post Civil War slaves
 * 3. Cormac McCarthy à  //Blood Meridian// about the old west

**VI. Art**

http://www.allbusiness.com/retail-trade/miscellaneous-retail-miscellaneous/4404155-1.html http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade80.html http://www.inthe80s.com/toptens/toptenmovies.shtml LEP AMSCO Princeton Review: AP U.S. History