Unit 9 Key Terms Flashcards
Ronald Reagan
- People wanted a president who wasn’t a coward and would act, Ronald Reagan’s slogan was “Let’s Make America Great Again!”
- Reagan won in a landslide for both his elections, even democrats voted for Reagan
- Reagan’s election marks a significant turning point for conservatism, known as “new conservatism”
New Conservatism
- Led by a “Moral Majority” who wanted a return to traditional values
- Marked another wave of religiousness, religion comes in Sin waves like /\/\/\
- New conservatives sought for tax cuts, a free market, and individual liberty
Televangelism
- A type of evangelism where preachers preached in mega-churches with their sermons being visible on your TV
- Televangelists were infamous for their hyperbole sermons and corrupt practices, but still gained lots of influence and supported a wave of religiousness
Reaganomics
- Similar to trickle-down economics, assumed that tax cuts for corporations meant businesses could grow and wages would increase
- Reagan also promoted the deregulation of businesses, the use of private contractors, and decreasing spending on social programs
- Most opponents argued (and the reality was) that his plan furthered the divide between the rich and the poor and led to increased corruption
- Reagan was able to combat stagflation, but a recession followed his presidency and the national debt continued to increase
Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars)
1983
* Reagan began the Strategic Defense Initiative for a laser defense system in space to combat Communism and demonstrate US strength, commonly known as Star Wars due to the fictitious nature of the plan
*Whether Reagan was bluffing or not, the USSR began to bankrupt themselves trying to combat Star Wars
Mikhail Gorbachev
- Mikhail Gorbachev was a leader of the USSR who planned to strengthen the country, but his two plans backfired
- Perestroika - Aimed to restructure the USSR’s political and economic system
- Glasnost - Granted increased freedom of speech for citizens of the USSR and increased transparency
- Gorbachev’s plans ultimately made the USSR weaker as citizens wanted their rights extended further now that they had a sample
Nancy Reagan, “Just Say No”
1980s-1990s
* Every first lady since the Modern Era stuck to a small goal they planned to combat, Nancy Reagan chose the war on drugs
* Reagan planned to educate kids that if given drugs, “Just Say No!” Take a wild guess as to why it failed
Iron Contra Affair
1985-1987
* The United States was found to have sold weapons to Iran (an enemy of the US) and then used the money to fund the Nicaraguan Contra
* The Contra was planning to overthrow their commie government and also got money from the cocaine industry which undermined the war on drugs
* Reagan denied any ties to the affair, but Litenuent Colonel Oliver North confessed and said Reagan was connected to the affair
* Reagan was investigated but not changed, everyone else involved was charged though
Reagan’s “A Time for Choosing”
1987
* Reagan gave an empowering speech in Berlin about the Berlin Wall, telling Gorbachev to “Tear down this wall!”
* Many republicans credit his speech as a reason why the Berlin Wall fell
Black Monday
1987
* The stock market crashed for one day, Dow Jones dropped over 20% (the most it has ever dropped in a singular day)
* Because of safeguards and other regulations on the stock market, the crash lasted a day and had no major long-term effects
The AIDS Epidemic
1981-Now
* AIDS became a major concern for Americans during Reagan’s first term, but Reagan didn’t directly address it until his next term
* The White House’s press secretary, Larry Speakes, was infamous for downplaying the epidemic, saying “I don’t have it… do you?”
* Both Reagan and the media reported on AIDS as a “gay man’s disease,” even though anyone could get AIDS, so heterosexuals didn’t take enough precautions
Election of 1988
- Despite Reagan’s controversies, he still won by a large margin, especially due to his opponent Dukanis
- Dukanis was a Massachusetts governor and anti-death penalty, even gave life-sentenced prisoners furloughs for good behavior
- One prisoner let out for a furlough murdered while he was out, leading to major controversies involving Dems not being hard enough on crime
- At a presidential debate, Dukanis became infamous for saying he wouldn’t kill the rapist/murderer of his wife, sealing any chance of his election as his message was repeated heavily in Reagan’s campaign.
Invasion of Panama
1989
* The US wanted to overthrow the communist government in Panama, originally planned by Reagan but he wanted to ensure H. W. Bush was elected.
* The communist leader fled to a church because churches were a safe place, the US blasted rock music until he left the church because he hated rock music.
Invasion of Kuwait
1991
* Communist leader Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait to control oil Dollie’ supplies in the Middle East
* The UN said they would act if Hussein didn’t withdraw, he chose not to so the US invaded
* The war ended in six weeks with a US victory, but Bush chose not to depose Hussein for some reason
* Last major war was Vietnam so the US wanted to ensure good treatment of veterans.
Election of 1992
- Candidates were George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Ross Perot
- California turned blue in this election and hasn’t returned to red since
- Clinton won but Perot got a respectable number of votes
