Ronald Reagan
Nicole Francis
Election of Reagan
Rep. Candidate- R. Reagan
- "Neoconservative", populist, free-market capitalist, conservative
- Acting skills improved public's opinion in televised debates
- Reagan won all but six states
Dem. Candidate- J. Carter
- Party divided between E. Kennedy and Carter
- Growing political group, ABC (Anyone but Carter)
Election of 1984
Rep. Candidate- R. Reagan
- Another wide win, losing only Mondale's home state of Minnesota
Dem. Candidate- W. Mondale
- VP running mate- G. Ferraro, the first female on a major party presidential ticket
- Mondale was Carter's VP, tainted campaign
National Budget
Cut billions in welfare programs to spend on military
Aug 1981 Congress approved to lower individual tax rates, reduce federal estate taxes, and create new tax-free savings plans for small investors
Supply-side economics- "Reaganomics", emphasized cutting taxes and government spending to stimulate investment, productivity, and economic growth of private enterprise, failed mostly but experienced brief success in 1983
Created large gap between classes
Debt grew to trillions
The Cold War
Plan was to threaten another arms race and hope USSR surrenders
Strategic Defense Initiative- "Star Wars" plan for orbiting battle stations in space that could vaporize intercontinental missiles on liftoff, defensive strategy to force Soviet to move, costly but Congress approved
1981 Poland unionized into "Solidarity", US imposed sanctions on Poland and USSR
1983 Arms control negotiations with Soviets are broken off
1980 US boycotts Moscow Olympics
1984 USSR boycotts Los Angeles Olympics
1985 M. Gorbachev is new USSR Chairman
- Introduced Glasnost (free speech to reduce Soviet oppression) and Perestroika (adopted free market practices, like profit motive and ended subsidized prices)
- Redirected interests from military to dismal economy
- April USSR would stop intermediate-range nuclear forces towards Western Europe as long as the US agreed to completely eliminate them
- Nov 1985 USSR pushed INF Agreement
- Oct 1986 stalemate
- Dec 1987 Sign INF Agreement, banning all INFs from Europe
- May 1988 celebrate end to Cold War
Iran-Contra Imbroglio
Contra rebels fight socialist Sandinistas, Reagan wants to provide military aid but Congress refuses
1985 US Diplomats secretly sell arms to Iranians for aid in rescuing American hostages from Middle Eastern terrorists in return
One hostage in returned
Money from Iran to pay for the weapons is given to the contras, violating congressional ban on military aid to Nicaraguan rebels
Nov 1986 American public learns of dealings
Reagan said he was ignorant of the dealing, some of his administration was indicted but it was later overturned through appeals
Economic Legacy
Added more financial debt than all his predecessors combined
1986 Congress decides to close national debt by 1991, didn't happen
Widened gap between classes, rich got richer and poor got poorer