To what extent were the Presidency and US politics revitalised Flashcards
Why did people like Reagan as a President
He had followed Nixon and Ford who were controversial, and Carter who was seen as incapable. He was firmer, promising to bring change and enacting it in the first few years which made him seem extremely capable to the public, who then noticed less when he introduced less changes later in his Presidency.
How successful was Reagan at passing legislation through Congress
Varied - Although he started well, he often got blocked or peer pressured by opposition to his legislation throughout the rest of his Presidency
Name 2 changes Reagan wanted to that was either blocked by Congress or he was advised would never pass
- Cuts on busing children from poorer areas to integrated schools
- Introduction of daily prayer in schools
2 reasons why Bush achieved less than Reagan
- Was a worse communicator and was less convincing to both the public and congress
- Had less supporters in Congress than Reagan in his first term, 45 in the Senate compared to 54 and 175 in the House compared to 189
When was the Iran Contra uncovered
Autumn 1986
What was the Iran Contra
Reagan had supplied weapons to Iran in order to free hostages, then used the money from the arms sales to support Contra rebels in Nicaragua in both money and weapons. Neither the public nor congress knew of this and it went against the neutrality policy of the USA in the Iran-Iraq war
How did Reagan defend the Iran Contra
Initially denied it then changed his story and said he didn’t know about it - the public were angry either way but he was able to evade the fate of Nixon as the public felt he was doing it for the hostages and not for himself
Which ideology introduced by Reagan has influenced many US politicians since
‘New Right’ thinking
What is ‘New Right’ thinking
A combination of neoliberal economic theory and social conservatism
Why were Republicans not necessarily dominant following Reagan’s presidency
They saw Reagan’s victories as a new way of permanently thinking whereas Reagan’s campaigns and policies could be considered a reaction to Democrat failures
What were the Democrats doing in the 1980s
They tried to commit with the ideas of Kennedy and LBJ but it didn’t appeal anymore to the public. Alongside a divided party, they lost badly in 1980, 1984 and 1988. However, in 1984 the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) was founded to revitalise the party and in 1990 the Chairman Bill Clinton founded the ‘New Democrat’ ideology which won the 1992 election
What was the ‘New Democrat’ ideology
Encouraging welfare (rebranded as ‘support’) while still keeping taxes low and federal intervention otherwise low
What was the voter turnout % in 1980 vs 1996
1980 - 55.1%
1996 - 49.8%
Little change suggesting politics may not have been revitalised
What were TV debate viewership numbers in 1980 vs 1996
1980 - 80.6 million
1996 - 36.3 million (lowest ever)
This suggests Reagan did not revitalise politics
