The New Conservatism

1
The New Conservatism

• The Rise Reagan and the New American Right

2
The Rise of the Sunbelt

• The Sunbelt region included areas of the
  Southeast, Southwest, and above all California.
• By 1980, the Sunbelts population began to exceed
  the industrial regions of the North and the East.
• Produced a change in political climate.
• Produced a strong opposition to the growth of
  government and hate towards regulations, and
  restrictions.
• Made politics in the region more hostile to the
  government.

3

• Population Growth of Sunbelt

4
The Sunbelt and its politics

• Sagebrush Rebellion
• mobilized conservative opposition to
  environmental laws and restrictions on
  development.
• The rebellion portrayed west as a victim of
  government control.
• Suburbanization fueled the rise of the right
  because it attracted people who wanted to flee
  from problems and diversity of cities.

5
Religious Revivalism

• In the 1970s the US experienced a major religious
  revival.
• The most important religious revival was
  Evangelical Christianity.
• More than 70 million Americans now described
  themselves as born again Christians.
• Through evangelicalism more Christians now own
  their own businesses, they also operated their
  own schools, and they took a position in
  entertainment.

6
Moral Majority

• Many evangelicals feared the growth of feminism
  so they launched a movement called the Moral
  Majority.
• The Moral Majority, the Christian Coalition
  opposed federal interference in local affairs
  denounced abortion, divorce, feminism,
  homosexuality and supported a strong American
  posture in the world.

7
The Emergence of the New Right

• The new right was a diverse powerful movement
  that enjoyed rapid growth during the 70s and 80s.
• It took shape after the 1964 election where Barry
  Goldwater suffered a defeat.
• Conservative campaigns had for many years been
  less well funded and organized than those of
  their rivals.

8
The Campaign of 1980

• Key issues during the election.
• The Iranian hostage crisis.
• The weak economy and high rate of inflation.
• Hostility toward big government.
• Call for a more conservative Supreme Court.
• Political trouble for Jimmy Carter
• Low popularity in polls
• Sen. Ted Kennedy primary challenge
• Ronald Reagan disliked the excesses of the
  federal government so he chose to link his
  campaign to the tax revolt.
• He promised substantial tax cuts.

9
1980 Election

• Reagan(R) won 51 of the vote
• Jimmy Carter(D) won 41 of vote
• John Anderson(I) won 7 of the vote
• The Republican Party won control of the Senate
  for the first time since 1952.

10
The Reagan Coalition

• Reagans political skills and personal charm won
  him the support from these groups
• Midwest small towns
• Wealthiest Americans
• Hawks on foreign policy
• Blue Collar in North and Midwest (union and
  non-union)
• White Southerners
• Evangelicals

11
Reagans Agenda

• Cut taxes
• Cut Spending
• Balance the Budget
• Strong Defense

12
Presidential Power and Persuasion

• Reagan Model
• Pres People Congress

13
Reaganomics

• Believed excessive taxation was the main reason
  for the problems of the American economy.
• Reaganomics (Supply-side economics)
• Reduce taxes in order to encourage new
  investments, boost productivity, promote dramatic
  economic growth.
• Cut spending
• Balance Budget
• deregulation

14
Economic Boom

• Economic recovery by 1983
• Biggest economic expansion in history
• 5 million new businesses
• 20 million new jobs
• 5.5 unemployment by 1988

15
Peace through Strength

• Largest peacetime buildup in American history
• 1.5 trillion of military spending over 5 years.
• Impact on Cold War
• American military buildup would cause the Soviets
  to try to match.
• Soviet economy may either collapse or be forced
  to reform.
• Increased deficit and debt

16
Reagan Doctrine

• Support opponents of communism anywhere in the
  world whether or not regimes or movements it has
  connection to the Soviet Union
• Aid to Afghan rebels
• October 1982, American sent soldiers and marines
  into the Caribbean island of Grenada to drive out
  an anti-American Marxist regime
• Secret funding of contras in Nicaragua against
  Sandinista government
• In El Salvador, the administration provided
  increased military and economic assistance.

17
The Election of 1984

• Running for presidency is Ronald Reagan and
  Walter Mondale
• Mondale selected Representative Geraldine Ferraro
  of New York to be his running mate.
• Reagan won approximately 59 percent of the vote
  and carried every state except Minnesota and the
  District of Columbia

18
The Election of 1984
19
Iran-Contra Affair, 1980s

• Pro-Socialist Sandinistas take control of
  Nicaragua (1979)
• Sold military weapons to Iran, in return for
  release of hostages
• The money from the arms deal with Iran had been
  illegally placed into a fund to assist the
  contras in Nicaragua.
• Illegal sale of US property w/o Congressional
  approval
• Aid to Contras violated the Boland Amendments

20
Iran- Contra Scandal
21
The Fall of the Soviet Union

• Emergence of Mikhail Gorbachev
• Transformed Soviet Politics with two dramatic
  initiatives.
• Glasnost (openness) the dismantling of many of
  the repressive mechanisms that been conspicuous
  features of Soviet life for over half a century.
• The other policy was called perestroika
  (reform) an effort to restructure the rigid and
  unproductive Soviet economy by introducing
  elements of capitalism as private ownership and
  the profit motive.

22
Reagan and Gorbachev

• At a Summit meeting with Reagan in Reykjavik ,
  Iceland , in 1986,Gorbachev proposed reducing the
  nuclear arsenals of both sides by 50 percent or
  more. However disputes of Reagans commitment to
  the SDI program prevented agreements.
• In 1987 Regan and Gorbachev signed a treaty
  eliminating American and the Soviet
  intermediate-range nuclear forces (INF) from
  Europe
• Finalizing Gorbachev also ended the military
  mobilization present in Afghanistan.

23
The End of the Iron Curtain

• Gorbachev realized the Soviet Union could not
  sustain anymore responsibilities around the
  world.
• -1989 Every Communist state in Europe-Poland,
  Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, East
  Germany, Yugoslavia and Albania overthrew their
  government to noncommunist and in some cases
  anticommunist regime.

24
The Election of 1988

• Democrats regained control of the U.S. senate in
  1986 and it incited great hopes for a
  Presidential victory in 1988.
• Michael Dukakis as three-term governor of
  Massachusetts was the secured the Democratic
  nomination.
• Vice President George Bush was the Republican
  nominee.
• Bush won a substantial victory with 54 percent of
  the popular while Dukakis had a 46 percent.
  Bushs Electoral vote was 426 and the votes to
  Dukakis was 112.