The impact of the Reagan Presidency Flashcards
when was reagans presidency
81-88
was reagan republican or democrat
republican
when was bush’s presidency
1988-92
was bush a republican or democrat
republican
when was Clinton presidency
1992-96
was Clinton a republican or democrat
democrat
what were some of Reagans beliefs
- committed christian
-pro the nuclear family
-against abortion
what was reagans plan for economic recovery
-cutting the federal deficit- aimed to reduced the deficit from 22% of the GNP to 19%
-personal and business tax reductions
-deregulation
-planned control of money supply
what is the economic recovery tax act and when was it passed
1981 and it cuts marginal income tax by 23% over three years
what is the omnibus budget reconciliation act and when was it passed
1981 and proposes a variety of tax cuts that will take $35 billion out of federal spending
how successful was Reagans aim to stop inflation
relatively successful in 1980 inflation was at rates of 13.5% whereas in 1982 it was down to 6.2%
how successful were Reagans aims to reduce unemployment
unemployment rates went from 7.1% in 1980 to 9.6% in 1983
did reagans policies encourage people to save and invest
as the economy came out of recession during 1982 more people began to save and invest however due to the deregulation finial organisations took more risks therefore savings became more unsafe and ultimately ended in the savings and loans crisis
did reagans policies encourage people to save and invest
as the economy came out of recession during 1982 more people began to save and invest however due to the deregulation finial organisations took more risks therefore savings became more unsafe and ultimately ended in the savings and loans crisis
why did Reagans policies fail to reduce the deficit
-reagans huge tax cuts hoped that this would increase productivity and economic boom and that did not happen hence he ended up with a massive federal deficit
-between 1980-87 Reagan increased defence spending from 23-28% of federal spending
Did Reagans policies reduce the deficit
in 1980 the federal deficit was $59 billion whereas in 1983 the deficit was $208 billion
did bush continue Reagans economic policies
bush promised to continue Reagans policies however the democrats were in control of both houses making legislation more difficult to pass
did Clinton continue Reagans economic policies
her became a ‘new democrat’s campaign was economically focussed on low inflation, high employment abrade a reduced deficit
-his only difference was in increasing welfare and medical care
what were the aims of new federalism
producing less federal interference in state and local affairs, businesses, finance and all aspects of peoples lives
how was big government reduced in the short term
-cut federal regulations in half
-helped to bring down the cost of petrol by deregulation
-created a federal strike force
-replaced federal agencies with private sector ones
when was the deregulation of controls on fuel prices
1981
when was the bus regulatory reform act and what did it do
deregulates bus services in 1982
what was a problem with deregulation that affected small companies
when small companies were struggling big companies could easily buy the out therefore many big companies expanded whilst small independent business struggled therefore there was a rise in conglomerates
what is a conglomerate
an organisation that controls several businesses of different types
what did deregulation make big businesses easily able to do
fix a price structure so they did not have to compete
what was the savings and loan collapse
-saving and loans institutes became deregulated in 1983
-banks competed to offer the best rates
-lending rates became lower and lower
-essentially saving and loans institues didn’t have enough money to lend
-s&ls collapsed
how did the government have to intervene with the savings and loan collapse
was forced to pass the competitive equality banking act in 1987 which provided money to cover the money that was lost by S&L’s that had to close
how much money had the savings and loans institutes lost by 1988
$10 billion
what were the effects of Reagans economic policies on the textiles industry
between 1980 and 85 around 250,000 textiles plants closed down and 300,000 workers lost their jobs
in what ways was big government not reduced as much as Reagan would of liked
-congress blocked plans to remove regulations of pollution and environmental issues
-state and local governments were often unwilling to take over projects that were currently under federal control
what was the effect of reduction of big government on bush and Clinton
bush - many didn’t like deregulation as they had seen the negative effects it had on the banking industry
Clinton - became a New Democrat and did not increase the size of government to as large as normal democrats would
what reagans reaction to the AIDS crisis
he was slow to speak out about it and refused to advocate the use of condoms
did Reagan manage to pass the family protection act
no he failed
what was the family protection act
-the prohibition of abortion
-the restoration of school prayer
-single-sex sports at school
why did Reagan have such strong views on family values
because he was a born again christian
which group did Reagans opinions on abortion and school prayer appeal to
the religious right
how many Americans used drugs in the Reagan years
40 million
how many drug related deaths were there annually compared to alcohol related during the Reagan years
12,000 drug related
200,000 alcohol related
what did Reagan say about the war on drugs
by 1980, illegal drugs were every bit as much a threat to the United States as enemy planes and missiles
what was Nancy Reagans ant drugs campaign called
just say no
how much was the federal government expenditure on the war on drugs annually
$15 billion annually
what percentage of the prison population were drug offenders
60%
who was Robert bork
a Supreme Court justice that Reagan nominated in 1987
why did liberals hate Robert bork
-opposed abortion
-claimed women’s rights were not included in the 14th amendment
-criticised the principle of racial equality
what were the NAACP and NOW’s reaction to Bork
they mounted a congressional lobby drive which played a big role in the senates rejection of borks nomination by 58 to 42
how much did the number of homeless people increase under Reagan
homeless people doubled from 200,000 to 400,000
how much did the wealthiest 1% possess of the national income during 1990
15%
what were some reasons why black Americans found Reagan unsympathetic
-he openly criticised the civil rights act and the the voting rights act
-he vetoed the civil rights restoration act which limited ant discrimination laws (however congress overrode his veto)
what were some reasons for celebration for minorities during the Reagan years
-he had a black cabinet member
-New York and Chicago elected black mayors
-the black middle class continued to grow
what were some improvements for women during the Reagan years
-women earned 72% of what men earned during 1990 which was an improvement of the 62% during 1980
-thousands of anti abortionists were jailed in 1988-99
-regan employed Sandra day o’conner who was more liberal on abortion
what were some negatives for women during the Reagan era
-harder to get an abortion
-reagan appointed few women
what were bush’s views of abortion
-pro choice early in his career
-changed his stance due to being a republican and declared abortion was murder
-bush administration declared a support for an anti abortion constitutional amendment
what were Clintons views on abortion
-abortion facilities were restored in federally funded clinics
-clinton reversed bushs policies of stopping abortions in military hospitals
what were bush and Clintons views on homosexuality
bush - said he would not mind having a gay cabinet member
Clinton - sought to allow openly gay people to serve in the military
why was Reagan so popular
-he had taken office during a period of of crisis
-he had an assassination attempt
-he was a great communicator
-ple and obliging with congress
when was Iran contra
1986
what was Iran contra
the scandal which the Reagan administration covertly sold arms to Iran and diverted the funds to contra rebels who opposed the left wing government in Nicaragua
why was the Iran contra affair so scandalous
the law said that the president could not make major weapons sales or intervene in Central America without congressional knowledge
what did Iran contra do to Reagans approval ratings
the fell from 64 to 44%
what was the tower commission
a Reagan appointed commission to investigate Iran contra
what did the tower commission criticise
Reagans delegatory management techniques
what was Reagan credited for during his presidency
ending the Cold War
why was Reagan given most of the credit for the end of the Cold War
many Americans believed Reagans massive federal defence expenditure forced the soviets to bankrupt themselves trying to keep up with America
