The Modern Years

1. Ch. 30-31 The Modern Years

2. The Reagan Years

3. Ronald Reagan • Former movie star and governor of California • President: 1981-1989 • “Reaganomics” • War on Drugs • Iran-Contra Affair • Set in motion the end of the Soviet Union • Emphasis on conservative values • The “Teflon” president • One of the highest approval ratings of all presidents

4. Election of 1980

5. Reagan • Nostalgia of simpler America • Support from anti-Communist who feared that the US was losing influence in the world • Big-businesses disappointed with the Carter administration’s EPA and Occupation Safety and Health Administration • Economy was still suffering under Carter • Carter had many difficulties in bringing the hostages home

6. Assassination Attempt! • March, 1981 • Reagan, his Press Secretary James Brady, and two secret service agents struck by gunfire outside Washington Hilton Hotel • “Close to death” but recovered and was released from the hospital in April • The incident had great effects on his popularity

7. The Conservative Critique • Free markets work better than government programs; government intervention does more harm than good; government assistance may be acceptable for property owners, but it saps the initiative out of the poor. • “Government is not the solution to our problems, it is the problem”

8. Reaganomics • Economic Recovery and Tax Act of 1981 • Reduced personal income tax rates by 25% over three years • Taxes were cut for the rich in hopes of stimulating business activity • Less money for federal programs and more money in the hands of consumers and investors to stimulate economic growth (trickle down economics)

9. Cuts of $40 billion in federal aid to mass transit, school lunches, etc. Social programs would have to be funded on a local or state level • Deregulation of business • Blocked regulation of hazardous wastes, emissions, exposure of workers to chemicals on the job, etc • Encouraged Americans to invest in IRAs and the stock market

10. Reaganomics in Summary: • Lower personal income taxes, especially for the wealthy • Deregulate industry • Encourage investment in the stock market

11. “Greed is Good” • Yuppies: young urban professionals who were a symbol of social change. Often defined themselves by elitist consumerism • Big business takeovers

12. New Music • Reactions to the 1980s • Punk Rock- lashed out against youth culture • Grunge Bands- expressed alienation from consumerism • Hip Hop- originated among African Americans and Latinos • Rap- personal power, social inequities, deprivation, anger and frustration • MTV!

14. Poverty and Prosperity • Tax changes meant average annual income in the bottom 20% declines and increased for the wealthy • More jobs in the suburbs, but the poorer people who most needed jobs we left in the city slums • Women entering the workforce • Increase in people living in poverty • Lots of new jobs, but many of them paid little

15. War on Drugs • “Just Say No” • “crack” epidemic

16. Iran-Contra • Contras: rebel fighters in Nicaragua • Congress bans US aid to Contras • At the same time, Lebanon is holding seven US hostages • The government secretly sells weapons to Iran in exchange for release of the hostages and for Iran to funnel money to the Contras

17. Defense • Soviet Union was an “evil empire” • Soviets pursued military expansion in the 70s and 80s and supported regimes throughout the world • US placed missiles in Europe • START • Strategic Defense Initiative: expensive defense plan against possible nuclear weapons using superlasers and satellites

18. Soviet Union • Mikhail Gorbachev • Glasnot- political openness and free discussion of issues in the Soviet Union • Perestroika- restructuring of the bureaucratic Soviet economy • Reagan took Gorbachev seriously and negotiated the Intermediate Nuclear Force agreement to destroy an entire class of nuclear weapons

19. Election of 1988

20. George HW Bush • Americans with Disabilities Act • Rodney King riot • End of the USSR • Gulf War • Grenada • Lebanon • Immigration

21. Rodney King • A black motorist arrested and beaten by 4 officers in LA • Officers found not guilty, riots broke out for four days, 58 people killed (mostly African Americans)

22. Crisis and Democracy in Eastern Europe • Poland an Hungary ejected the Communist leadership in favor of democracy in 1989 • East Germans began to flee westward and opened the wall in November of 1989! • New governments established in Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, East Germany • 1990- Germany reunites as one nation • Soviet parliament banned the Communist party in 1991 • Soviet Union had dissolved by 1991

23. Gulf War • August, 1990- Saddam Hussein of Iraq seized Kuwait which gave Iraq 20% of the world’s oil production and reserves • Bush demanded unconditional withdrawal, and enlisted help from European and Arab allies • Our goals: punish armed aggression of Saddam, destroy Iraq’s capacity to create atomic weapons and topple Saddam’s regime, secure oil production

24. Operation Desert Strom • Air attacks of command centers, transportation facilities, and Iraqi positions (40 days) • Ground attack- US and allied forces swept into Iraq and advanced directly to liberate Kuwait • Cease-fire came 100 hrs after the start of the ground attack • 240 allied deaths, 100,00 Iraqi deaths • Saddam encountered rebellions within Iraq, but held power…

25. Growth in the Sunbelt

26. No New Taxes • Growing deficit in US • Recession • Bush pledged no new taxes, but eventually raised taxes • Many voters were angered • Hurt his run for reelection

27. Immigration • Biggest immigration boom since the 1920s • Largest immigrant group came from Mexico • Half of new arrivals were Asians and Pacific islanders

28. New Meanings of Family • 98% agreed that “family” applied toa married couple living with their children • 81% applied “family” to an unwed mother living with her child • Over 25% were comfortable using “family” for a gay couple living together and raising children

29. Women’s Issues • Roe v. Wade • More women working in the 80s and 90s • Title IX

30. Bill Clinton • Policing the World • Dangers in Everyday Life • Gun Control • Impeachment • Economic Growth • NAFTA • Technology

31. Election of 1992

32. Clinton: Governor from Arkansas, overcame minimal name recognition and his student draft deferment to avoid fighting in Vietnam • Gained much of the baby boomer and southern vote (VP AL Gore was from Tennessee) • Bush campaigned as a foreign policy expert, but ignored anxieties about domestic policy • Clinton won due to his concern for the economy and popularity among voters over 65 (FDR and Truman supporters) and under 30

33. Policing the World • Multinational effort to end bloody civil war in ethnically and religiously divided Bosnia • Kosovo: ethnic Albanians suffered under the control of a Serb-controlled government, rebellion began and brutal repression followed. NATO began a bombing campaign

34. Election of 1996 • Contract with America: Republican campaign which called for reduction in federal responsibilities • Bob Dole: Republicans uncertain whether to focus on morality or free markets • Clinton: nation was prosperous and at peace, claimed the political center

36. Dangers of Everyday Life • April 1999- Columbine High School (15 killed) • 1993- Waco, TX (80 killed) • Building set on fire by cult • 1995- Oklahoma City explosion (169 killed) • Timothy McVeigh detonated a truck with explosives in front of a federal office building

37. Gun Control • Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, 1994, set up a waiting period and background checks for purchases of firearms • Gun control debate about interpretation of the 2nd Amendment was political dynamite

38. Morality and Partisanship • Whitewater: Arkansas real estate development in which the Clintons invested, several fraud convictions resulted but evidence was not found that the Clinton’s had done wrong • Monica Lewinsky: White house intern who admitted to an intimate relationship with Clinton • Clinton lied about their relationship under oath, Congress began impeachment under the charges of perjury and obstruction of justice (deep concern about Clinton’s character and moral fitness) • Fell short of the 2/3 majority needed for conviction and removal from office

39. Economy • Economic expansion in the 90s • Unemployment fell to 4% • Increased government revenue • North American Free Trade Agreement: reduced barriers to trade between US, Canada, and Mexico, greatly expanded business in foreign markets • World Trade Organization: International organization that sets standards and practices for global trade

40. Technology • CNN :24 hr news coverage • Internet and the World Wide Web

41. Election of 2000 • Both Al Gore and George Bush needed Florida to win the election • Several recounts within key counties in Florida • Supreme Court ordered a halt to recounting on December 12 with a 5-4 vote • Bush was the winner

43. Economy • Reaganomics revisited • Tax cuts • Deregulation of industry

44. September 11, 2001

45. “Acts of War” • New security measures • Airline safety • Patriot Act: legislation intended to facilitate antiterrorism action by federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies • Military buildup in Afghanistan to seek out the Taliban, Al Qaeda, and Osama bin Laden

46. Iraq and conflict in the Middle East • “Axis of evil”: North Korea, Iran, and Iraq had supposedly supported acts of terrorism and harbored WMDs • Overthrown of Saddam Hussain • Support of Israel in conflicts with Palestine

47. Summary • Theme of the 90s onward was interconnection • Email, internet, cell phones, world economy, immigration, travel • End of isolationism • New unity after 9/11