THE REAGAN YEARS

Preview of Events

1980- Reagan Elected President

1983- Terrorists bomb U.S. Marine barracks in Lebanon

1984- Reagan reelected

1986- Iran-Contra scandal breaks

1987- Reagan and Gorbachev sign INF treaty

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The Road to the White House

Grew up in Dixon, Illinois

1937 took a Hollywood screen test and won a contract from a movie studio

Over the next 25 years, he made over 50 movies

Learned how to speak publicly and how to project an image, skills that proved invaluable when he entered politics

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Moving to ConservatismMoving to Conservatism1947- Reagan became president of the Screen Actors Guild

He was a strong democrat but his experience with Communists in the union led him toward conservative ideas

1954- host of television program called General Electric Theater

He became increasingly conservative traveling the country speaking to workers, secretaries, and managers

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Moving to Conservatism Cont.

Moving to Conservatism Cont.

Reagan’s speech on behalf of Goldwater’s presidential campaign impressed entrepreneurs in California

1966 elected governor of California and was reelected in 1970

10 years later in 1980 he won the Republican presidential nomination

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The Election of 1980The Election of 1980His campaign appealed to Americans who were frustrated with the economy and worried that the U.S. had become weak internationally

He promised to:

1. Cut taxes2. Increase defense spending3. He called for a constitutional amendment banning abortion

He won nearly 51% of the popular vote and 489 electoral votes

Republicans for the first time since 1954 regained control of the Senate

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Reagan’s Domestic Policies

Reagan’s Domestic Policies

Believed that key to restoring economy and overcoming problems in society was to get Americans to believe in themselves again

Monetarists argued inflation was caused by too much money in circulation they said to raise interest rates.

Supply-side economics argued that the economy was weak because taxes were to high and though that if taxes were cut businesses could make new investments

Reagan combined monetarism and supply-side economics called Reaganomics or “trickle-down” economics”

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Reagan’s Domestic Policies Cont.

Reagan’s Domestic Policies Cont.

Budget deficit- the amount by which expenditures exceed income

Welfare benefits, school lunch programs and food stamp programs were cut back

His first act as president was to sign an executive order eliminating price controls on oil and gas

Reagan’s Secretary of the Interior, James Watt, increased the amount of public land corporations could use for oil drilling, mining, and logging

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Sec. 2Sec. 21984- U.S. biggest economic expansion in history

By 1988 unemployment had fallen to about 5.5%

Sandra Day O’Connor-first woman on the Supreme Court

William Rehnquist- exceeded Chief Justice Warren Burger

Antonin Scalia - Filled vacancy left by Rehnquist

Anthony Kennedy - new associate justice

Walter Mondale- Carter’s VP

Geraldine Ferraro- First woman to run for VP of a major party

Regan won 1984 election

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Sec 2 ContSec 2 Cont

Reagan adopted a new Cold War foreign policy that rejected both containment and détente

He believed if Soviets tried to match the American buildup, it would put so much stress on the economy causing them to reform their system or collapse

Reagan’s defense spending pushed the budget deficit from $80 billion to over $200 billion

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The Reagan DoctrineThe Reagan Doctrine

Mujahadeen- Afghan guerrillas

Rebels known as the Sandinistas overthrew the pro-American dictator in Nicaragua in 1979

Individuals in Reagan’s Administration continued to illegally support the rebels known as the Iran-Contra Scandal

Oliver North-Chief figure in the scandal/Marine Colonel

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New Approaches to Arms Control

New Approaches to Arms Control

START- Strategic Arms reduction talks was proposed to cut the number of missiles on both sides

Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) nicknamed “Star Wars” was the development of weapons that could intercept and destroy incoming missiles

Mikhail Gorbachev- leader of Soviet Union

December 1987- two leaders signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. It was the fist treaty to call for the destruction of nuclear weapons

The treaty marked the beginning of the end of the Cold War

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