Exploring American History Unit X Modern America

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Exploring American HistoryUnit X Modern America

• Chapter 30 Searching for Order
• Section 3 The Reagan Presidency

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The Reagan Presidency

• The Big Idea
• President Reagan enacted conservative policies at
  home and took a strong anti-Communist stance in
  the Cold War.
  
• Main Ideas
• President Reagan based his policies on
  conservative ideas.
  
• Reagan took a tough stand against communism in
  his foreign policy.

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Iran Hostage crisis

• The overthrow of Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlevi of
  Iran by an Islamic revolutionary government
  earlier in the year had led to a steady
  deterioration in Iran-U.S. relations. In response
  to the exiled shahs admission (Sept., 1979) to
  the United States for medical treatment, a crowd
  of about 500 seized the embassy. Of the
  approximately 90 people inside the embassy, 52
  remained in captivity until the end of the
  crisis.
• On Jan. 20, 1981, the day of President Reagans
  inauguration, the United States released almost
  8 billion in Iranian assets and the 52 hostages
  were freed after 444 days in Iranian detention
  the agreement gave Iran immunity from lawsuits
  arising from the incident.

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Main Idea 1 President Reagan based his policies
on conservative ideas.

• Republican candidate Ronald Reagan won an easy
  victory over President Carter in the 1980
  election.
  
• Asked voters, Are you better off than when you
  were four years ago?
  
• On the day of his inauguration, January 20, 1981,
  Iran finally released the American hostages after
  444 days of captivity.
  
• Reagans approach to government based on
  conservative ideas
  
• Wanted to cut taxes
• Promised to scale back the size of government
• Encouraged expansion in key industries by
  reducing government regulations
  
• Appointed conservative justices to the Supreme
  Court, including Sandra Day OConnor, the first
  woman to serve as a Supreme Court justice

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Reaganomics

• Reagans economic policies were based on a theory
  called supply-side economics.
  
• Called for sharp tax cuts, with goal of
  increasing amount of money people and businesses
  have to invest
  
• Investment would lead to economic growth and
  creation of new jobs
  
• Over time, increased economic activity would
  produce increased tax revenues for government.
  
• Became known as Reaganomics
• Spending on defense increased.
• New spending outpaced the new tax revenues.
• Resulted in a deficit the amount by which a
  governments spending exceeds its revenues.

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Election of 1984

• President Reagan ran for reelection in 1984
  against Democratic candidate Walter Mondale.
  
• Mondale chose Geraldine Ferraro as his running
  mate, the first woman to run for vice president
  on a major ticket.
  
• Reagan won a landslide victory with 59 percent of
  the popular vote.
  
• Economy was booming.

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Main Idea 2Reagan took a hard stand against
communism in his foreign policy.

• Central America
• Reagan supported anti-Communist governments in
  Central America and sent aid to them as they
  fought civil wars.
  
• Congress passed Boland Amendment in 1984, banning
  U.S. aid to Contras, rebels in Nicaragua.
  
• Iran-Contra affair broke when it was exposed that
  some U.S. officials had continued to send aid to
  the Contras via illegal sale of arms to Iran.
  

• The Soviet Union
• Reagan took a tough stand against the Soviet
  Union by halting arms negotiations and expanding
  U.S. military.
  
• When Mikhail Gorbachev became the new Soviet
  leader, he began a process of economic and
  political reforms called perestroika.
  
• Reagan saw Gorbachevs desire for change and
  signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces
  Treaty, eliminating all medium-range nuclear
  weapons in Europe.

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Nicaragua 1980s

• 1st Boland Amendment 1982
• Can not use government funds to overthrow the
  Sandanistas.
  
• Only send non-military aid- food, clothing and
  medicine.
  
• April 1984
• CIA and Contras plant mines in Nicaraguan
  Harbors.
  
• CIA war manual given to Contras- blackmail and
  assassination.
  
• 2nd Boland Amendment- 1984
• bars CIA and other government agencies from
  giving military aid to the Contras.

110 min.
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Nicaragua 1980s Marxist Sandanistas have taken
control- tied to Cuba.U.S. to stop the Communist
influence pressured Nicaragua to become
Democratic.CIA armed rebels to oppose the
Sandanistas- The Contras 424 min
.
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Reagan and the Russians

• U.S.S.R.- the Evil Empire- world problems could
  be blamed on Russia.
  
• US and NATO allies put intermediate range
  missiles in Western Europe. (Cruise for ex)
  
• Russia refuses to deal and remove its missiles
  and the arms talks are threatened.
  
• Demonstrations in Europe and US for a freeze.
• Sept. 1, 1983- Soviet shoot down an unarmed South
  Korean airliner killing 269
  
• Soviet change leaders- Andropov and Chernenko.

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Reducing Nuclear Arms- INF

• February 1987- Gorbachev offered to sign an
  agreement eliminating both Soviet and U.S medium
  range missiles.
  
• Tough Verification procedures would allow each
  country to station representatives outside the
  other countries plants.
  
• December 1987- Gorbachev and Reagan signed the
  new Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
  
• removed all missiles with ranges of 300-3400
  miles from Eastern and Western Europe.
  
• All 2611 missiles would be destroyed- 859 US and
  1752 Soviet.
  
• Did not insure peace, both nations still had
  enough long range and nuclear missile to destroy
  each other.
  
• Some believed the world was less safe and perhaps
  a step away from self-destruction.

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Reducing Nuclear Arms- INF - 318 min.
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Strategic Defense Initiative

• Star Wars
• Throughout its history, the program developed new
  technology and demonstrated a vast array of the
  science and engineering required to field a
  system capable of destroying enemy missiles
• Lasers that will shoot down enemy missiles within
  five minutes of launch. The lasers would attack
  their targets from battle stations in space, a
  few hundred miles above the Earth. A total of
  about 100 stations would really be needed
• Mirrors would have to keep the chemical lasers
  locked onto the missile for several seconds
  before it would be destroyed
  
• The 1980s US Strategic Defense Initiative program
  (better known as 'Star Wars') included several
  projects which looked at the possibility of using
  antimatter as rocket fuel or to drive space-borne
  weapons platforms.

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Nuclear Weapons Chart This chart shows the world'
s current firepower. The center dot represents th
e firepower of the World War II 3 megatons.
The other dots represent the world's present
nuclear weaponry which equals 6,000 World War
II's or 18,000 megatons. The USA and the USSR sh
are this firepower with approximately equal
destructive capability.
The top left-hand circle enclosing 9 megatons
represents the weapons on just one Poseidon
submarine. This is equal to the firepower of
three World War II's and enough to destroy over
200 of the Soviet's largest cities.
The circle in the lower left-hand square
enclosing 24 megatons represents just one Trident
sub with the firepower of eight World War II's -
enough to destroy every city in the northern
hemisphere.
Just two squares on this chart (300 megatons)
represent enough firepower to destroy all the
large- and medium-size cities in the entire
world. Fewer than 3 squares (400 megatons) repres
ent the warheads removed from missiles in the INF
treaty. Although missiles were destroyed the
warheads were preserved and are being deployed on
other delivery vehicles. There was no decrease in
destructive power. IT IS A LONG LONG WAY TO NUCLE
AR DISARMAMENT. WE ARE SURROUNDED BY FORESTS OF
NUCLEAR DESTRUCTION. WE MUST GO ON.
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1980s Culture

• The 1980s became the Me! Me! Me! generation of
  status seekers.
  
• During the 1980s, hostile takeovers, leveraged
  buyouts, and mega-mergers spawned a new breed of
  billionaire. Donald Trump, Leona Helmsley, and
  Ivan Boesky iconed the meteoric rise and fall of
  the rich and famous.
• If you've got it, flaunt it You can have it
  all! Binge buying and credit became a way of life
  and 'Shop Til you Drop' were all watchwords.

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FACTS about this decade

• Population 226,546,000 Unemployed in 1980
  National Debt 1980 - 914,000,000,000 National
  Debt 1986 - 2,000,000,000,000 Average salary
  15,757 Life Expectancy Male 69.9 Female 77.6
  Minimum Wage 3.10 BMW was 12,000 Mercedes
  280 E was 14,800 Attendance Movies 20
  million/week

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Interesting events

• Toxic Shock Toxic shock syndrome is a rare,
  life-threatening bacterial infection that has
  been most often associated with the use of
  superabsorbent tampons and occasionally with the
  use of contraceptive sponges.
• In 1980, an outbreak of toxic shock syndrome
  occurred that mostly involved young women who had
  been using a particular brand of superabsorbent
  tampons. The cause of the outbreak seemed to be
  toxins produced by Staphylococcus aureus (staph)
  bacteria
• Medicare-our countrys health insurance program
  for people age 65 or older. Certain people
  younger than age 65 can qualify for Medicare,
  too, including those who have disabilities and
  those who have permanent kidney failure. The
  program helps with the cost of health care, but
  it does not cover all medical expenses or the
  cost of most long-term care. Medicare is
  financed by a portion of the payroll taxes paid
  by workers and their employers. It also is
  financed in part by monthly premiums deducted
  from Social Security checks.
• Just Say No! Nancy Reagans active campaign
  against drug and alcohol abuse.
  
• Vietnam Veterans Memorial-The official name of
  the Memorial is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. It
  is sometimes referred to as VVM or "the Wall".
  The figures are called "The Three Servicemen".
  This is not a war Memorial but a Memorial to
  those who served in the war, both living and dead.

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Interesting people
Sandra Day OConner
Wayne Williams
Nancy Reagan

• Wayne Williams- From October 1979 to May 1981,
  Wayne Williams killed twenty-seven young black
  boys in Atlanta. At trial Williams was found
  guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.
• Sandra Day OConner- first woman supreme court
  justice.
  
• Geraldine Ferraro-first woman vice-presidential
  candidate.
  
• Jesse Jackson- first black presidential
  candidate.
  
• Rock Hudson- famous actor who died of AIDs
• Jim Bakker-televangelist who was sentenced to 45
  years for selling bogus lifetime vacations.
  
• Nancy Reagan- President Reagans wife and first
  lady who started the Just Say No to drugs
  program

Jim Bakker
Geraldine Ferraro
Jesse Jackson
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Education

• 1980 study by UCLA and American Council on
  Education indicated that college freshmen were
  more interested in status, power, and money than
  at any time during the past 15 years. Business
  Management was the most popular major.
• American education came under fire during the
  1980s. Liberals cried out against budget cuts and
  rising student costs. School districts offered
  teachers exams and exit exams became a part of
  graduating for Education majors.
• Conservatives like E.D.Hirsch, Jr. and William
  Bennett advocated a return to the classics for
  college students and back to the basic skills for
  public school students. An attempt was made to
  improve the teacher quality by raising salaries
  slightly. Efforts to censor books tripled in the
  eighties. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ,
  The Grapes of Wrath, and Catcher in the Rye were
  among books banned in New York State. Roget's
  Thesaurus banned sexist categories mankind
  becamehumankind countryman became country
  dweller. Columbia University, the last all male
  Ivy League school, began accepting women in 1983.
  President Reagan endorsed a constitutional
  amendment to permit school prayer. It was
  defeated.

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Medical Advances

• Research money allowed for studies and new
  treatments for heart, cancer, and other diseases.
  
  
• Major advances in genetics research led to the
  1988 funding of the Human Genome Project. This
  project will locate the estimated 80,000 genes
  contained in human DNA.

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Sports

• Team sports for kids were really popular
  beginning in the seventies and going through the
  present. Eighties' mothers ran carpool after
  work, kids had after school and week end
  cheerleading, baseball, football, soccer, gym,
  dance, jazz, you name it!

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Fashions

• 80's Flops Ra ra and bubble skirts
  Fluorescent socks and t-shirts Drop waisted
  dresses Lace gloves Fergie bows - in the
  hair White leather fringed cowboy boots - Not
  unless you're Dolly Parton and you're boot
  scooting!80's FabulousTie sleeve and Batwing
  tops - Drop earrings - Micro minis - Big gold
  earrings - Multiple belts - Coloured tights - and
  This time round, pair coloured or camel toned
  fishnet tights with a knee length skirt, knee
  high leather boots and a turtleneck for a subtly
  funky effect. Leg warmers.

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Fads

• Big Hair
• Skater hair and flat tops and Punk
• Painter hats and pierced ears.
• Michael Jackson Thriller coat
• OP, Izod, Argyle- Hawaiian and Rugby Shirts.
• Parachute pants.
• Converse Hightops
• Pegged jeans
• Jelly shoes
• Zubaz and spandex
• Valley Girl
• Michael Jackson glove and Miami Vice look
• Swatch watches
• Rubiks cube
• Pacman, Nintendo, and Gameboy
• Smurf, ET, and Cabbage Patch Dolls
• Sneakers

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Music

• Cable TV and MTV
• Slam dancing and break dancing
• Vogueing (posing)
• Pop, rock, new wave, punk, country, and
  especially rap or hip hop
  
• Milli Vanilli, M. C. Hammer , Vanilla Ice, and
  L.L. Cool J.
  

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Movies

• Nerds- Revenge of the Nerds, Lucas, Stand by Me,
  and Peggy Sue Got Married. TV joined the nerd
  ranks with ABC's hit series Head of the Class
  
• In 1981, VCR sales rose 72 in 12 months.
• By 1989, 60 percent of American households with
  televisions received cable service.
  
• Huge or memorable movies of the decade included
  On Golden Pond, Tootsie, Arthur, Stephen
  Spielberg Movies like E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL,
  The Big Chill, Flashdance, Beverly Hills Cop, Out
  of Africa, Back to the Future, Cocoon, The
  Breakfast Club,Platoon,Star Trek, Good Morning
  Vietnam, Fatal Attraction, Rain Man, and Driving
  Miss Daisy.

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Television

• Anti-family sitcoms like Roseanne and
  Married...with Children
  
• Tabloid tv with Geraldo, Phil, Sally, and Oprah
• Stand up comics included Gary Shandling, Jane
  Curtin, George Carlin, Jackie Mason, Bill Cosby,
  Jerry Seinfeld, and Tracy Ullman
  
• Info-tainment includedNightline with Ted Koppel,
  CNN Cable News,and 20/20 with Hugh Downs and
  Barbara Walters. 60 Minutes which had first aired
  in 1968 was bigger than ever.

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Foods

• Food of the 80s included the popular fast food
  places like Taco Bell and
  
• McDonald's McDLT and McRib. Kids loved Sweetarts,
  Skittles, Nerds, Runts, Hubba Bubba Chewing Gum,
  and Five Alive.
  

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Soviets Invade Afghanistan

• The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was a 10-year
  war fought between the Soviet Red Army, Afghan,
  and foreign fighters in Afghanistan. The
  'shooting' war is generally held to have started
  December 24, 1979. Soviet troops ultimately
  withdrew from the area between May 15, 1988 and
  February 2, 1989. The Soviet Union officially
  announced that all of its troops had left
  Afghanistan on February 15.
• The CIA invested US2.1 billion over a 10-year
  period to create an anti-Soviet resistance.
  
• USSR- 15,000 Killed,53,000 Wounded
• Afghanistan- 90,000 Killed, 90,000 Wounded,
  Roughly 1.3 Million Civilian deaths.
  
• One of these benefactors of the war was Osama bin
  Laden
  
• Resistance fighters, called mujahidin, saw the
  Christian or atheist Soviets controlling
  Afghanistan as a defilement of Islam as well as
  of their traditional culture. Proclaiming a
  "jihad"(holy war), they gained the support of the
  Islamic world. The US gave them weapons and
  money. The mujahidin employed guerrilla tactics
  against the Soviets.
• U.S stops grain sales to USSR and boycotts Moscow
  Olympics.
  

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John Lennon shot and killed

• John Lennon was shot and killed in New York. The
  gunman, Mark Chapman, apparently shouted 'I am
  the Catcher in the Rye' just before dropping to
  the ground and firing the weapon.