A Changing Society

1
A Changing Society

• Unit 9

2
Resurgence of Conservatism

• The Regan Years
• Chapter 29 Section 2

3
The Road to the Whitehouse

• Becoming a Conservatism
• Dixon, Illinois
• Graduated from Eureka College
• Actor in Hollywood
• Governor of California in 1970

4
The Road to the Whitehouse

• The Election of 1980
• Reagan promised to cut taxes and increase defense
  spending
• Called for a constitutional amendment banning
  abortion
• Republicans are now in control of the Senate

5
Domestic Policies

• Reagonomics
• Reagans first priority was the economy
• Monetarists believe to much money is in supply
• Supply Side Economics is to lower taxes to
  increase spending
• Reagan wanted to combine these two theories
• Encouraged the Federal Reserve to keep interest
  rates high and asked Congress to cut taxes
• Trickle-down economics the wealthy would
  benefit the most while the middle class and poor
  people would not receive the help

6
Domestic Policies

• Cutting Programs
• Reagan cut programs such as Welfare Benefits,
  food stamps, school lunch programs, Medicare,
  unemployment

7
Domestic Policies

• Shifting the Judicial Balance
• Reagan wanted judges who followed the original
  intent of the constitution
• Reagan also nominated the first woman to the
  Supreme Court Sandra Day OConner

8
Reagan Oversees a Military Buildup

• Reagan rejected containment and détente
• Peace through Strength
• Reagan believed that by building up our army the
  Soviets would then build up their army causing
  their economy to change
• Reagan military buildup did create new jobs for
  Americans

9
Reagan Oversees a Military Buildup

• The Reagan Doctrine
• Aid to the Afghan Rebels
• The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to support a
  Soviet backed government
• Reagan sent money to help the Afghan rebels
• Soviet Union finally backed out and left
  Afghanistan
• The Iran-Contra Scandal
• Reagans administration secretly sold weapons to
  Iran in exchange for the release of American
  hostages in the Middle East
• Testified in Court and admitted to covering up
  their actions
• Congressional investigation concluded that Reagan
  had no knowledge of this event but it still
  stained his image

10
Reagan Oversees a Military Buildup

• Arms Control
• Reagan decided to place nuclear missiles in
  Western Europe
• Reagan said he would remove the missiles if the
  Soviets removed their missiles from Eastern
  Europe

11
Reagan Oversees a Military Buildup

• Star Wars
• Mutual assured destruction
• Reagan did not approve this strategy
• Assumed that as long as the US could destroy each
  other with nuclear weapons they would be afraid
  to use them
• A New Soviet Leader
• Mikkail Gorbachev became the leader of the Soviet
  union
• Gorbachev knew he had to change the Soviet
  Unions economy

12
Reagan Oversees a Military Buildup

• Relations Improve
• Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
• First treaty to call for the destruction of
  nuclear weapons
• The treaty marked the beginning of the end of the
  cold war
• Gorbachev pushed economic and political reforms
  that led to the collapse of the communism