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President Ronald Reagan

President Ronald Reagan. January 20, 1981 January 20, 1989. Created & edited by Steve Armstrong SHS, 1994-2006. Rise of Christian conservatism and the Moral Majority. Jerry Falwell, founder Demanded that the Supreme Court reverse its decisions on school prayer and abortion

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President Ronald Reagan

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  1. President Ronald Reagan January 20, 1981 January 20, 1989 Created & edited by Steve Armstrong SHS, 1994-2006

  2. Rise of Christian conservatism and the Moral Majority • Jerry Falwell, founder • Demanded that the Supreme Court reverse its decisions on school prayer and abortion • Agitated by the sexual revolution • Promoted “family values”

  3. Anti-abortion rally, 1979

  4. Fight against ERA • Phyllis Schlafly and her organization fought against ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment • ERA defeated in Illinois in 1979

  5. New conservative agenda • Conservatives blamed 20-years of liberals in Congress for large budget deficits • Californians passed Proposition 13, an initiative to freeze property taxes • Conservatives blamed liberals for the 1970s period of stagflation • Conservatives in England elected Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister (1979)

  6. 1980 Election Campaign • Ronald Reagan, former governor of California was nominated for president • Reagan pushed a conservative agenda • Reagan criticized welfare, affirmative action programs and high taxes

  7. George Bush ran as well • Former CIA Director and Ambassador to China sought the Republican nomination, too • Bush called Reagan’s economic program voodoo economics

  8. Democrats were divided • Senator Ted Kennedy sought the nomination • Kennedy’s DUI which resulted in the death of Mary Jo Kopechne haunted his try for the presidency • The Chappaquiddick incident

  9. Independent Party • John Anderson ran as a third party candidate

  10. Libertarian Party • Ed Clark ran as the Libertarian candidate • Promised to reduce the size of government and significantly cut taxes

  11. Reagan’s victory • Republicans won in traditional Democratic areas • Reagan’s coalition included Jews, some Blacks, anti-government crusaders • Reagan’s public speaking ability eased Americans

  12. Reagan’s inaugural parade

  13. Reagan, Ford, Carter, Nixon

  14. Reaganomics • Reagan strived to reduce taxes, particularly reducing the highest tax bracket • Tax Reform Act of 1985 reduced brackets from 70% to 28% • Argued that Americans should be free of strict government regulation

  15. Reagan pushed tax cuts

  16. Reagan blamed the bad economy on President Carter

  17. Criticism of Reaganomics • Critics said that Reagan’s “trickle-down” theory benefited only the wealthy

  18. Reagan wanted to open federal lands to exploration

  19. Assassination attempt, 1981

  20. Agent Tim McCarthy took a bullet meant for Reagan

  21. Reagan survived • Reagan’s humor after the incident relieved Americans • Reagan quipped, “Are any of you doctors Republicans?” • He said to his wife, “Nancy, I forgot to duck!”

  22. And returned to the White House

  23. Air traffic controller strike • Reagan fired members of the Air Traffic Controllers Union (PATCO), who went out on strike • Some businesses pushed for non-union workers

  24. Reaganomics in practice • Factors such as a rising stock market, deindustrialization in the USA, outsourcing, led to a decline in the standard of living for some Americans • “Greed is healthy” said Wall Street financier Ivan Boesky • Yuppies -> Young urban professionals earned higher incomes

  25. Downside of Reaganomics • Increased defense spending created large federal deficits • National debt expanded • Federal government bailed out failed Savings & Loans and other banks • National debt = $3 trillion, by 1988

  26. Reagan and Pope John Paul II

  27. Reagan’s Civil Rights • Reagan nominated Sandra Day O’Conner as the first woman on the Supreme Court • Reagan cut back on some Great Society programs • Reagan did not push the religious right’s agenda: abortion remained legal, etc.

  28. But Reagan signed the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Bill

  29. At 40th anniversary of D-Day

  30. Reagan sought reelection • Reagan was easily renominated for another term • Questions about his age were mentioned, but did not diminish his ability to campaign

  31. Democrats nominated Mondale

  32. Reagan’s sketchbook

  33. Challenger accident, 1986

  34. Fuel leak causes accident • A broken o-ring seal caused the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger

  35. Shuttle debris retrieved from Atlantic Ocean

  36. Reagan at Challenger Memorial Service

  37. Reagan’s foreign policy • Reagan was determined to reverse the “Vietnam syndrome” • Reagan sent troops to Grenada to oust a pro-Cuban government • The invasion lasted only a few days with only 19 Ameican deaths

  38. Lebanon bombing, Oct 1983

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