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Explore the goals achieved during President Reagan's second term in office, including the continuation of a conservative direction, support from various groups, the 1984 election, and his impact on domestic affairs and the economy.
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Aim: What goals were achieved during the second term of President Reagan?
5. Continuing a Conservative Direction • The sweeping victory of Ronald Reagan had been due to the different groups he was able to pull together into a conservative coalition or temporary alliance of people, parties and states. • Their support made it possible for Reagan to change the direction of government during his first term in office.
However, Reagan had a setback when in 1982, many Americans replaced Republicans with Democrats. • As the election of 1984 drew near, the question was whether or not those who supported Reagan in 1980 would do the same in 1984.
Election of 1980 The states in blue supported Ronald Reagan, the red voted for Carter.
5.1 Reagan Supporters • One of Reagan’s biggest group of supporters were business leaders. • Even though Reagan raised taxes in 1982, many business leaders gave him the benefit of the doubt and were pleased with many of his programs. • Many people who opposed Reagan accused him of favoring business and the well-to-do at the expense of labor and the poor.
Another group of Reagan supporters were made up of religious conservatives who believed that American society became too liberal and materialistic. • Many of these leaders believed that the US should return to patriotism and Christian ethics. • Led by leaders like Reverend Jerry Falwell and Billy Graham, they formed a political action group called the Moral Majority.
The Moral Majority Reverend Billy Graham Reverend Jerry Falwell
Members of the Moral Majority hoped to make changes in America. • They wanted to have prayer in school classrooms, stop the use of federal money for abortion and cut down on the sex and violence on television. • They formed a powerful group to push their ideas in Congress and worked to defeat liberals in office. • Reagan also counted on groups that voted Republican in 1980 including blue-collar workers, southerners, white ethnic groups and the elderly. All of these groups were needed to help Reagan win in 1984.
5.2 The Democrats • The Democrats also hoped to form their own coalition. • The Democrats attacked Reagan for cutting social and educational programs while putting billions into the military. • Reagan was also accused of driving up the deficit, backing military governments and neglecting human rights in the US and in the world.
Eight Democrats decided to run for President in 1984 but by the convention that number dwindled to three. • The three major candidates were Walter Mondale (Vice President under Jimmy Carter), Senator Gary Hart and the Reverend Jesse Jackson, a civil rights leader and the first black male to try for a party nomination.
Each candidate appealed to different groups of the Democratic Party. • Gary Hart attracted young, educated urban professionals. • Jackson directed his attention towards the poor and minorities which made up the party. • Mondale, who won the nomination, appealed to the large majority of moderate Democrats.
From the beginning, Reagan led Mondale in all the major polls. • In order to gain support, Mondale named Representative Geraldine Ferraro as his vice presidential candidate. • Ferraro was the first woman to be nominated for the vice-presidency. • Mondale also put forth a plan to reduce the deficit by raising taxes.
5.3 Election of 1984 • Walter Mondale’s tactics failed to cut into Reagan’s lead. • The Republicans raised questions about Geraldine Ferraro’s qualifications to become vice president. • The Republicans also spoke out against Walter Mondale’s tax plan, stating the Democrats of being the “tax and spend” party.
The Reagan campaign, however, was upbeat. They stated the changes that were brought about under Reagan. • Reagan had brought inflation under control, cut taxes and lowered interest rates. • Reagan had also cut down unemployment and increased national security.
In the Election of 1984, Reagan received 59% of the vote and 525 electoral votes, breaking the record established by Franklin Roosevelt. • The Democrats retained control over the House of Representatives even though the Republicans gained 14 seats. The Republicans kept control over the US Senate.
5.4 Domestic Affairs • President Reagan’s domestic goals for his second term were basically the same as his first term---reduce the scope of the federal government, lower income taxes and build up the military.
The Economy • By the beginning of the second term, Reagan could boast that his policies were improving the economy. • Reagan created sixteen million new job which lowered the unemployment rate. • Reagan could state that family incomes were rising. By 1987, the increase from 1980 was 6.4 percent.
Even though things were improving, American families were no better off than they were in 1980. • The wealthiest Americans income were raised while members of the middle class received small income tax reductions while their take-home actually dropped due to rising Social Security taxes.
The economic boom of the 1980s led people to take financial risks. • Some people borrowed money to buy expensive real estate, banks loaned money to people without checking their ability to pay, brokers issued high-interest bonds called junk bonds which promised rich returns from risky investments. • Large companies bought up small companies in the hope of selling them off at higher prices down the road.
Deficits • Despite the appearance of financial good times, some people worried. • One worry was the federal deficit. • Income from taxes was going down while spending on military weapons and other federal projects were going up. • Month after month, the US Treasury borrowed billions to meet government expenses.
The trade deficit was another worry. • The money that Americans paid out for goods from foreign nations, such as Japan, far exceeded the money coming in from the sale of American goods abroad.
More Tax Changes • President Reagan also hoped to reduce taxes for many more Americans by simplifying the tax system. • Another tax reduction would give more money to spend and boost the overall economy. • The result was the Income Tax of 1986. • Many Americans welcomed the new law. • Many business leaders complained that it shifted the tax burden from individuals to businesses.
Reducing the Federal Deficit • In an effort to reduce the federal deficit, Reagan signed the Gramm-Rudman Act in 1985. • This law set up yearly deficit-reduction targets, amounts by which they hoped the deficit would go down each year. • By meeting these targets, the government was supposed to reduce the deficit to zero by 1991.
Many people disliked the Gramm-Rudman Act because it seemed to take funds away from important social programs. • Some members of Congress favored trimming the deficit with higher taxes rather than cutting back on aid to people in need. • A number of analysts believed, however, that if the plan worked, it would keep the economy growing. • In the end, the Gramm-Rudman deficit-reduction targets were not met and the nation continued adding to its debt.
Phil Gramm and Warren Rudman Senator Phil Gramm (R-TX) Senator Warren Rudman (R-NH)
Changing the Judiciary • President Reagan used his power to appoint Supreme Court justices to help ensure that his programs stayed in effect for a long time. • Reagan did not like liberal judges, known as judicial activists, who tried to bring about changes through judicial decisions. • Reagan wanted conservative judges, who tended to follow the letter of the law.
Reagan appointed William Rehnquist to become Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. • Reagan replaced Rehnquist when he appointed Antonin Scalia. • When Lewis Powell resigned, Reagan appointed Anthony Kennedy. • When Reagan left in 1989, he turned the Supreme Court in a conservative direction.
5.5 Foreign Affairs • President Reagan retained his strong interest in foreign affairs throughout his second term in office. • Reagan used military might, financial investment and political pressure to try to stop Soviet pressure in various parts of the world.
Trouble in the Philippines • By the mid-1980s, many people feared that the leader of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos, had become so and old and dictatorial that the people of the Philippines would be willing to accept a communist takeover. • Marcos, planning to show that he had the people’s support, had a special election in 1986. • Marcos was opposed by Corazon Aquino, the widow of a political opponent of Marcos who was recently murdered.
After the voting, which sparked some violence, Aquino and her followers claimed election fraud and organized a national protest. • Reagan persuaded President Marcos to step down peacefully and then supported Aquino when she took office. • Reagan’s action prevented further blodshed, supported a democratic government and prevented a communist takeover in Asia. • The support allowed the US to keep an important naval base in the Philippines.
Terrorism • Between 1980 and 1985, terrorism killed 300 Americans around the globe causing alarm in the United States. • By the start of his second term, Reagan promised to retaliate (strike back) against terrorists whenever he could. • In October 1985, four Arabs hijacked the Achille Lauro in the Mediterranean Sea. • The hijackers killed an American named Leon Klinghoffer and tried to seek safety in Libya. • US troops arrested and jailed the terrorists.
In December 1985, terrorist attacks killed 19 people and injured 112 (5 Americans), at airports in Rome and Vienna. • Acting on reports that Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi sponsored the attacks, Reagan cut off economic ties between the United States and Libya.
