CHAPTER 31

The Reagan - Bush Years,1981 – 1992

“By choosing a woman to run for our nation’s second-highest office, you sent a powerful signal to all Americans. There are no doors we cannot

unlock. We will place no limits on achievement. If we can do this, we can do anything. . . .Tonight, we reclaim our dream. We’re going to make the

rules of American life work fairly for all Americans again.”Geraldine Ferraro, 1984 speech accepting the Democratic

nomination for Vice President

“I swear to the LordI still can’t see

Why Democracy meansEverybody but me.”Langston Hughes

"I don't see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist"

Henry Kissinger [about Chile in early 1970s]

"In the 1996 presidential election, only 18% of those 18-30 voted, by far the lowest turnout of any age group." Richard Benedetto

  "Let them call me rebel and welcome, I feel no concern from it; but I should suffer the misery of devils, were I to make a whore of my soul. . ." Thomas Paine

"In California you can do some surprising things legally. You can buy videos of people engaged in anal sex; decorate your shop window with the paraphernalia of sado-masochism; or buy a gun that will blast a hole in a steel door. Given a doctor's certificate, you can even buy marijuana. But, as from January 1st, you can't light up a cigarette in a bar without breaking the law." - The Economist January 10, 1998   "If you cannot enter passionately into the life of your own times, you cannot enter compassionately into the life of the past. If the past is used to escape the present the past will escape you." Henry Glassie 1977

Paul Conrad Cartoon

[LA Times]

His view of the

Republican Party

following Pat Buchanan’s “culture war”

speech at the 1988

Republican National

Convention.

The Election of 1980 Ronald Reagan won in a landslide in 1980. Independent candidate John Anderson took more votes from Jimmy Carter than from Reagan, but Reagan’s personal magnetism was a powerful political force. His victory confirmed the shift of the South to the Republican Party.

Changes in Real Family Income, 1980-1990

In the 1980s, the poor got poorer, the middle class made slight gains, and the most affluent 20 percent of the American people did very well. Tax changes that helped well-off households were one factor. Another factor was the erosion of “family-wage jobs” in manufacturing.

Operation Desert Storm

A damaged Iraqi tank rests on the desert sands of Kuwait in front of bright orange oil fires giving off dense clouds of thick black smoke during the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

“As Veronique de Rugy of the Cato Institute points out, federal spending has increased at a hellish 13.5% in the first three years of the Bush administration (“he is governing like a Frenchman”). Federal spending has risen from 18.4% of national income in 2000 to 19.9% today. Combine this profligacy with huge tax cuts, and you have a recipe for deficits as far ahead as the eye can see. . . . Bill Clinton was not only better at balancing the budget than Mr. Bush. He was better at keeping spending under control, increasing total government spending by a mere 3.5 % in his first three years in office and reducing discretionary spending by 8.8%.”

Economist Print Edition, July 3, 2003

The Root Doctrine, 1922

“A sovereign state has the right to “prevent a condition of affairs in which it will be too late to

protect itself.”

Elihu Root, Nobel Prize winner and secretary of war under President’s McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt.

Chapter Review

Identify and briefly explain the major elements of the Reagan domestic and foreign policy agenda.

Identify and explain the historical significance of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI).

Identify the candidates and key issues of the 1984 presidential election, and describe the outcome.

Explain the circumstances surrounding the Iran-Contra affair. Identify two significant pieces of legislation passed during the Bush

administration. [Gulf War I, tax increase] Discuss the end of the Cold War and its impacts on American

diplomacy. What role should the United States play on the world stage of the

twenty-first century?

Sources

Haynes Johnson, Sleepwalking through History [1991] Nicolaus Mills, Culture in an Age of Money [1990] Kevin Phillips, The Politics of Rich and Poor [1990] Lou Cannon, President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime [1991] David Stockman, The Triumph of Politics [1986] Raymond Bonner, Weakness and Deceit: U.S. Policy and El

Salvador [1984] Theodore Draper, A Very Thin Line: The Iran Contra Affairs [1991] Randy Shilts, And the Band Played On [1986] William Julius Wilson, The Truly Disadvantaged: The Inner City, the

Underclass, and Public Policy [1987] Michael Beschloss and Stobe Talbott, At the Highest Levels: The Inside

Story of the End of the Cold War [1994] Mike Davis, City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles [1990] Juliet Shor, The Overworked American [1991] Bob Woodward, The Agenda: Inside the Clinton White House [1994]

Chapter Review

Ronald Reagan [CA gov., community college tuition, tax withholding] Moral Majority The Great Communicator Contras Strategic Defense Initiative [SDI] / Star Wars Walter Mondale Jesse Jackson Mikhail Gorbachev, Perestroika, Glasnost Iran-Contra scandal -- Oliver North, Sp. Processecutor Walsh Sandra Day O’Connor Colin Powell George H. W. Bush [41], Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990,

$20,000 to Japanese internees Tiananmen Square Clarence Thomas / Anita Hill

Additional Concepts

PATCO strike [Prof. Air Traffic Control union], Greyhound strike/Cesar $900 billion to $2.7 trillion – national debt increase under RR Evil Empire [dehumanizing -- Saddam, FMLM terrorists] Lebanon [Beirut bombing], Grenada, El Salvador, Nicaragua Sandinistas, Somoza, Iran-Contra, Boland Amendment Oliver North, William Casey, John Poindexter, Tower Report Steve Jobs/Apple, Bill Gates Mass. Gov. Dukakis, Willie Horton ad, Lee Atwater Ambassador Glasspie, Kuwait, Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Rodney King 1992, O.J. Trial H. Ross Perot in 1992 election NAFTA, GATT [today’s WTO], 1999 WTO in Seattle, WA, Privatization [Airports, Halliburton in Iraq, Social Security?]

Chronology

1980 Ronald Reagan is elected president 1981 Reagan administration initiates major cuts in taxes and

domestic spending Military buildup accelerates AIDS is recognized and named MTV and CNN start broadcasting as cable channels

1982 Economic recession grips the nation Nuclear freeze rally attracts 750,000 in NYC

1983 Reagan announces the Strategic Defense Initiative, labeled "Star Wars" by critics 241 marines killed in Beirut terrorist bombing Marines land on Grenada and oust anti-American Marxist regime

1984 Reagan is reelected overwhelmingly 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev initiates reforms--glasnost and

perestroika-- in the Soviet Union

1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act Democrats regain control of the Senate

1987 Iran-Contra hearings before Congress reveal arms-for-hostages deal and funds secretly, and illegally, diverted to Nicaraguan rebels Stock market crashes Reagan and Gorbachev sign INF Treaty

1988 George Bush is elected president 1989 Communist authority collapses in eastern Europe 1990 August: Iraqi invasion of Kuwait leads to massive U.S. military presence in the Persian Gulf 1991 January-February: Operation Desert Storm forces Iraq out of Kuwait

USSR dissolves - Commonwealth of Independent States 1992 Rodney King verdict sparks rioting in LA

Bill Clinton is elected president 1993 Clinton administration introduces comprehensive health-care reform, but

fails to win passage in Congress Congress approves the North American Free Trade Agreement [NAFTA - US, Mexico, Canada]

1994 Republicans control both houses, 1st time in forty years Congress approves the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

1996 Clinton reelected president; Republicans retain control of both houses

I. The Reagan Revolution

“Are you better off?” helps Ronald Reagan defeat Jimmy Carter, as does support of Christian Right Iran hostage crisis

Reagan is known as “Great Communicator” Strong staff aids Reagan early in term

America’s deficit grows National debt from $900 billion to $2.7 trillion in 8 years!

Reagan’s greatest domestic problem is savings and loan disaster

Proposals by president to tamper with Social Security bring strong public reaction

II. Reagan and Foreign Policy

Economy improves by late 1982, but Democrats gain seats in election

Middle East troubles impact America, with Marine barracks in Lebanon attacked Invasion of Grenada less than one week later

Star Wars plan contributes to decline of Soviet Union

III. Social Tensions and Strains of the 1980s

Cable television and personal computers change way Americans live

Families experience growing problems, including divorce, single parenthood, and school problems

Americans react to changes in very different ways

IV. The 1984 Presidential Election

Democrats jockey for nomination Walter Mondale emerges as candidate Reagan wins landslide victory

The Election of 1984

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V. Reagan’s Second Term

In response to president’s plans, major tax reforms are made in 1986

AIDS epidemic divides Americans Soviets and Americans reach informal agreements Iran-Contra Affair damages Reagan presidency

Reagan has major impact on Supreme Court President names majority of justices Also names Sandra Day O’Connor first woman justice

Soviets pull out of war in Afghanistan and, along with United States, begin to remove weapons from Europe

VI. The 1988 Presidential Election

“No new taxes” vow brings George H.W. Bush to presidency

Democrats seem unorganized with Dukakis Reagan legacy is mixed

Not as good as his admirers claim Nor as bad as his detractors assert

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VII. Kinder, Gentler George Herbert Walker Bush

In office, Bush pushes for improvements at home but fails to address AIDS problem

Foreign affairs claim much of president’s attention China mows down human rights along with students in Tiananmen

Square American military seizes Panama’s Noriega and brings him to

justice

Americans lose faith in Bush over taxes Persian Gulf crisis brings America together to save Kuwait In budget battle, Bush appears to cave to Democrats Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination enthralls country Last years of presidency bring more anxiety

Persian Gulf War, 1991

The Reagans Dance at Inaugural Ball

Washington, D.C.: President and Mrs. Ronald Reagan dance early January 21 at the Smithsonian Museum of American History – last stop on a tour of inaugural balls. Mrs. Reagan wore a one-shoulder white satin sheath gown by James Galanos to the fetes.

Ronald and Nancy Reagan

Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy celebrate Reagan’s inauguration as president.Corbis–Bettman

Homeless

An affluent family pedals by a group of homeless people in Santa Barbara, CA. In the 1980s a combination of rising housing prices and the closure of most mental hospitals pushed increasing numbers of Americans onto the streets. Estimates of the number of homeless Americans in the late 1980s ranged from 300,000 to 3 million, depending on the definition of homelessness and the political goals of the estimator. P. F. Bentley, Time Magazine © TimePix

AIDS quilt

AIDS quilt, Washington, D.C., October, 1992 Lisa Quinones/Black Star

Rights of Protesters

In December 1993, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on whether states could require protesters to remain a certain distance from abortion clinics. These anti-abortion and pro-abortion protesters revealed the deep divisions over this and other issues in the culture wars. AP/Wide World Photos

American Hostage Crisis

John Chancellor reports on the American hostages in Iran during an NBC News broadcast.

Mideast Peace Treaty

Leaders Anwar Sadat, Jimmy Carter, and Menachem Begin shake hands together after signing the Middle East Peace agreement.

Panama Canal Treaty

U.S. president Jimmy Carter addresses the meeting with institutional leaders for Panama Canal Treaty briefing.

A Group of Five Presidents

President Bush participates in a group photo with former presidents Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter in the replica of the Oval Office at the Dedication of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.

Chaos outside the Washington Hilton Hotel after the assassination attempt on President Reagan

On 30 March 1981, John W. Hinckley shot Ronald Reagan, the nation's forty-first President, with a .22 caliber pistol. President Reagan's wound, while serious, healed quickly, and he was back at work twelve days after the assassination attempt.

George Bush

American president George Bush during a 1991 speech in front of a celebrating crowd of American troops and their families.

Nancy Reagan speaking at a "Just Say No" rally in Los Angeles

During the 1980s, new initiatives were started to decrease the use of illegal mood-altering chemicals among America's youth. Interestingly, just as the ''Just Say No'' campaign began, America faced new challenges from ''crack,'' a type of cheap and powerful cocaine, that would transform the ''war on drugs.''

President Reagan addressing the Annual Convention of the National Association of Evangelicals (the "Evil Empire" speech)

Branding the Soviet Union as the ''Evil Empire'' in 1983, President Ronald Reagan called for an American military build-up that included the ''Star Wars'' space-baced missile defense system.

President Ronald Reagan

President Ronald Reagan receives applause from George Bush (l.) Tip O'Neill (r.) during speech to a joint session of Congress in 1981.

Ronald Reagan and Mikhail S. Gorbachev

(Ronald Reagan , Mikhail Gorbachev) chat next to a rustic fireplace during the 1985 Geneva Summit. The two leaders sit in overstuffed leather chairs on an oriental rug.

The Reagans at home

The Reagans eating dinner on TV trays in the White House residence. Like many Americans in the 1980s, the Reagans ''nested'' at home.

Fast-Growing and Shrinking Metropolitan Areas, 1900-2000

In the 1990s, boom cities were found in the Southeast, Southwest, and on the West Coast. In contrast, all of the large metropolitan areas that lost population were in Ohio, New York, or Pennsylvania, the area hardest hit by the decline of jobs in established manufacturing industries.

Kuwaiti Oil Fires

Noxious black smoke from ignited oil wells blanket the Kuwaiti countryside during the Iraqi invasion. Photo taken from the space shuttle Atlantis.