Transcript Chapter 22 Section 2 The Reagan Years

Chapter 22
Section 2
The Reagan Years
Ronald Reagan
• Ronald Reagan started
out as an actor.
• Over 25 years, he made
more than 50 movies.
President of SAG
• In 1947 Reagan became
president of the Screen
Actors Guild, an actors’
union.
• As the head of the
union, he testified
about communism in
Hollywood before the
House Un-American
Activities Committee.
General Electric Theater
• In 1954 Reagan became the
host of a television program
called General Electric Theater.
• He was also a motivational
speaker for the company.
• As he traveled across the
country speaking to people, he
became more politically
conservative.
• He heard stories from
Americans about high taxes.
• They described how
government regulations made
it impossible for them to get
ahead in life.
Speaking for Goldwater
• In 1964 Barry
Goldwater asked
Reagan to speak on
behalf of his
presidential campaign.
• Reagan’s speech
impressed several
wealthy people from
California.
Governor of California
• They convinced Reagan
to run for governor of
California in 1966, and
he won.
1980 Election
• In 1980 he was the
Republican candidate for
president.
• Reagan’s 1980 campaign
for the presidency appeal
to Americans who were
frustrated with the
economy and worried
that the United States
had become weak
internationally.
Reagan’s Promises
• Reagan promised to cut
taxes and increase
defense spending.
• He called for a
constitutional
amendment banning
abortion.
• His positions on issues
won him the support of
conservatives.
• Reagan won the election.
Fixing the Economy
• Reagan’s first priority was
the nation’s economy.
– One group of economists
believed inflation was the
biggest problem and
raising interest rates was
the solution.
– Another group supported
supplyside economics.
• They believed high taxes
weakened the economy
and cutting taxes would
allow businesses to grow
and create more jobs.
Reagan’s Economic Solution
• Reagan combined the
two ideas.
– He urged the Federal
Reserve to raise interest
rates and asked Congress
to cut taxes.
Reaganomics
• Critics called this Reaganomics, or
“trickle-down economics.”
• Cutting tax rates would increase
the government’s budget deficit,
the amount by which spending
exceeds income.
• To keep the deficit under control,
Reagan proposed cuts to social
programs such as:
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Welfare benefits
Food stamp program
School lunch program
Medicare payments
Unemployment compensation,
Student loans
Housing subsidies.
Influencing the Judicial Branch
• Reagan applied his
conservative ideas to
the judicial branch.
• He elevated a
conservative Supreme
Court justice to chief
justice.
• Reagan also nominated
Sandra Day O’Connor to
be the first woman on
the Court.
Deregulations
• Reagan believed that
government regulations
also caused economic
problems.
• He got rid of price
controls for oil and
gasoline, and energy
prices fell.
• Other deregulations
followed.
Economic Recovery
• The economic expansion
began to take place by
1984; the median income
of families climbed, new
businesses jobs were
created, and
unemployment fell.
• This made Reagan very
popular.
– He was reelected in 1984
in a landslide.
Building up the Military
• Reagan believed the
United States had to
show strength in dealing
with the Soviet Union.
• He started a huge military
buildup, which created
new defense jobs.
• Defense spending pushed
the annual budget deficit
from $80 billion to over
$200 billion.
Breaking the Soviet Union
• Reagan believed that if
the Soviets tried to
match the American
buildup, it might put so
much pressure on their
economy that they
would be forced to
reform their system or
collapse.
Reagan Doctrine
• Reagan also thought the
United States should
support guerrilla groups
who fought to
overthrow Communist
or pro-Soviet
governments.
• This policy became
known as the Reagan
Doctrine.
Arming the Contras
• In Nicaragua, individuals
in the Reagan
administration secretly
armed guerrilla forces
known as “contras.” U.S.
officials also secretly
sold weapons to Iran
and sent profits to the
contras.
• This became known as
the Iran-Contra affair.
Iran Contra Affair
• Individuals in Reagan’s
administration illegally
and secretly sold
weapons to Iran in
exchange for the
release of American
hostages being held in
the Middle East; profits
from these sales were
then sent to guerilla
forces in Nicaragua.
Mutual Assured Destruction
• Reagan disagreed with
the military strategy
known as nuclear
deterrence, or “mutual
assured destruction.”
• It assumed that as long as
both the United States
and the Soviet Union
could destroy each other
with nuclear weapons,
they would be afraid to
use them.
SDI – Star Wars
• In 1983 Reagan
proposed the Strategic
Defense Initiative,
nicknamed “Star Wars.”
• It called for the
development of
weapons that could
destroy incoming
missiles.
Mikhail Gorbachev
• In 1985 Mikhail
Gorbachev became the
leader of the Soviet
Union.
INF Treaty
• In 1987, Gorbachev and
Reagan signed the
Intermediate-Range
Nuclear Forces (INF)
Treaty, which was the
first treaty to call for the
destruction of nuclear
weapons.
• The treaty marked the
beginning of the end of
the Cold War.