Chapter Thirty

The Conservative Resurgence

1980-2005
The Rise of Conservatism
 Leading Issues
• Taxpayer’s Revolt
– Californians passed ‘Proposition 13’, which cut property
taxes, in an effort to spite high taxes
• Moral Revival
– Pat Robertson, Oral Roberts, and Jim Bakker
– Preached ‘moral reform’
– Begun by Roe vs. Wade (Pro-abortion)
• Reverse Discrimination
– White males blamed their lack of success on the
multitudes of immigrants and women, stealing their jobs.
– Regents of the University of California vs. Bakke
• College admissions could not be decided by race
 The Reagan Revolution

• After Ronald Reagan was elected president,

the hostages in Iran were released
Supply-Side Economics (Reaganomics)
• Federal Tax Reduction
– Income tax down 25%
• Spending cuts
– $40 billion cut from domestic programs (Food
stamps, student loans, mass transportation)
 Deregulation
• Federal business regulations were decreased
• Auto safety regulations were also decreased
 Labor Unions
• Reagan fired many striking workers, and
decertified their union
• Union membership dropped to 12%
 Recovery and Recession
• Banks died
• Unemployment skyrocketed to 11%
• Inflation was reduced to 4%
• The middle class remained….well….middle-ish
 Social Issues
• Sandra Day O’Connor was the first woman in
the supreme court
• Certain restrictions were placed on abortions
 The Election of 1984
• Republicans nominated Reagan
• Jessie Jackson (Black) ran under the Rainbow
Coalition party
• The democrats nominated Walter Mondale
• Geraldine Ferraro was the first woman to run
for Vice President, under Mondale

• Reagan wins, easy

 Budget and Trade Deficits
• Tax cuts led to $200 billion dollars a year
deficit
• After Reagan’s two terms, the debt was almost
to 2.7 trillion
• Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Balanced Budget Act
passed, which made ‘across-the-board’ budget
cuts
• The debt was reduced by $66 billion, but still
horrendous
 Impact of Reaganomics
• Free economy was more and more popular
• Social programs ended
• More government programs were being cut
Foreign Policy During the Reagan Years
 Renewing the Cold War
• Military Buildup
– In 1981-1985, congress began the Strategic Defense
Initiative, to build up anti-missile lasers
– Deficit doubled
• Central America
– Overthrew communists and Marxists
• Grenada
– Marines invaded Grenada to prevent Communism
• Iran-contra affair
– Reagan sold missiles to Iran in exchange for hostages
Lebanon, Israel, and the PLO
 Improved US-Soviet Relations
• Mikhail Gorbachev became the new Soviet
Leader
– Reforms
• ‘Glasnost’ meaning openness, to end repression
• ‘Perestroika’ meaning restructuring, to foster free
marketing
– All intermediate range missiles were agreed to be
destroyed (INF agreement)
– Soviet troops left Afghanistan
President George H. Bush and the End of the War
 The Election of 1988
• Democrats nominated Michael Dukakis
• Republicans nominated George H. Bush
• Republicans kicked butt, and Bush was
inaugurated
 The Collapse of Soviet Communism
and the Soviet Union
• Tiananmen Square
– Communists in China slaughtered protesters
• Eastern Europe
– Gorbachev promised not to support Communism
• Breakup of the Soviet Union
– Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania declared independence
– The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was
formed
• End of the Cold War
– Nuclear weapons were agreed to be dismantled
– Warheads were reduced to under 10,000 (START 1)
– Warheads were reduced to under 3,000 (START 2)
 Invasion of Panama
• Marines were sent into Panama to dethrone
the autocratic General Manuel Noriega
• This was done in order to stop drug cartel
through panama.
 Persian Gulf War
• Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990
• Bush first imposed an embargo on Kuwait,
then reacted militarily
• After Hussein was thrown out of Kuwait,
Bush’s approval soared to 90%
 Domestic Problems
• Nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court
– Allegations or fascism and sexual harassment were thrown
around constantly
• Taxes and the Economy
– 1 trillion more dollars was added to the debt
during Bush’s presidency
• Political Inertia
– Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)
• Discrimination against people with disabilities illegal
The Clinton Years, 1993-2001:
Prosperity and Partisanship
 Anti-Incumbent Mood
• US Term Limits Inc. vs. Thornton (1995)
– States could not limit tenure of federal offices
without a constitutional amendment
• 27th amendment (1992)
– Congress could not raise its own salary
 The Election of 1992
• Republicans
– George H. Bush
• Democrats
– Bill (Jefferson) Clinton
• Independent
– H. Ross Perot
• Clinton was elected president
 Clinton’s First Term (1993-1997)
• Setbacks
– Nothing worked during the first two years xD
• Early Accomplishments
– Family and Medical Leave Act
• Citizens could register to vote as they got their licenses
– Brandy Handgun Bill
• 5 day waiting period before purchase of firearms
– Anti-Crime bill
• $30 billion to police
– North American Free Trade Agreement
• Free trading with Canada and Mexico
 Republicans Take Over Congress
• Zealous Reformers
– Newt Gingrich
• Speaker of the House
– Attacked democratic spending

• Balanced Budget
– Welfare was limited (Under Personal
Responsibility and Work Opportunities)
 The Election of 1996
• Republicans
– Bob Dole
• Democrats
– Clinton (Al Gore, The Creator Of The Internet, as VP)
 Clinton’s Second Term
• Technology and wireless communication
flourished
• Inflation fell to 2%
• The price of houses quadrupled
• Unemployment was the lowest ever
IMPEACHMENT
Clinton was indicted and impeached for perjury
and obstruction of justice in the end of the
year 1998
The Lone Superpower in a New Century
 Disputed Election of 2000
• Democratic
– Al Gore (THE CREATOR OF THE INTERNET!!!!!)
• Republican
– George W. Bush
• Bush vs. Gore
– Made George Bush president, deciding the much
sought after, fought over, and disputed election
 The Rise of Southern Republicans
• Southern conservatives took over congress
• The south was entirely conservative
• Conservatives dominate!!
 Domestic Policies and Problems
• Republican Tax Cut
– 1.35 trillion tax cut
• Education Reform
– No Child Left Behind
– But what about No Child Left Bored To Death?
• Recession of 2001
– Dow Jones fell 38%
– $400 billion annual deficit
 War on Terrorism
• September 11th, 2001
– Three planes flew into the World Trade Center,
and one crashed, killing over 3,000 people
• War in Afghanistan
– The US invaded Afghanistan to try to destroy Al
Qaeda
• Changing Foreign Policy
– NATO expanded
 War In Iraq
• Bush labeled North Korea and Iran as the ‘Axis
of Evil’
• America attacked Iraq ‘Before Hussein could
make nuclear weapons’
• America and Britain took over Iraq, and
deposed Saddam Hussein
 Elections of 2004
• Democratic
– John Kerry
• Republican
– George W. Bush who, despite everyone screaming
that he was a horrible president, got reelected
– Perhaps people just want something to complain
about??
 Not Covered In The Textbook.
• Obama. Yes, we can.
 The End
• So, you finished everything in the AMSCO. I
would go look over chapter thirty a little bit,
because I skimmed a lot. But most of that is
common knowledge to most of us Americans.
But it’s all good. You’re done. Go watch TV.