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Chapter 30 The Conservative Ascendancy 1974-1991 The Overextended Society The Overextended Society Post-war prosperity had kept conservatives at bay. Then, in the 1970s, economic growth stopped and Americans faced a combination of inflation and rising unemployment: “stagflation.” After emerging from World War II as the most prosperous nation in the world and retaining this status through the 1960s, the country suddenly found itself falling behind Western Europe and Japan. Meanwhile, presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter promised little and, as far as many voters were concerned, delivered less. MAP 30.1 World’s Leading Oil Producers The Troubled Economy The energy crisis was the most vivid sign of a troubled economy. Dependence on imported oil had steadily grown. President Nixon ordered oil conservation measures. Soaring energy prices led to rapid, sustained inflation. Steel and auto making faced stiff competition and declining market shares. FIGURE 30.1 Decline of U.S. Oil Consumption, 1975–81 FIGURE 30.2 Union Membership, 1940–90 The Endangered Environment By 1973 activists held the first Earth Day to popularize their concerns. The linking of cancer at Love Canal to toxic waste raised U.S. concern over pollution. Growing interest in the concept of ecology led Americans to lobby for renewable energy sources, protecting endangered species, and reducing pollution. Despite public outcries, government officials frequently responded to other pressures. “Lean Years Presidents”: Ford and Carter Gerald Ford succeeded Richard Nixon’s After pardoning Nixon, Ford lost the nation’s trust. Democratic Jimmy Carter Carter defeated Ford Moderate image, outsider status, and a pledge to restore trust Pro conservative policies like deregulation, increased military spending, but proved an ineffective and uninspiring leader. Inflation, interest rates soared, Carter unable to help economy The Limits of Global Power In April 1975 Saigon fell and Vietnam was reunited under a Communist government. Carter pledged a new approach to foreign policy and began to distance the U.S. from right wing regimes. In his greatest success, Carter brokered the Camp David Accords and an Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty but failed to resolve the Palestinian issue. The Limits of Global Power The 1978 treaty returning the Canal to Panamanian control was a highlight of Carter’s new morality in foreign policy. Carter also normalized relations with Communist China, but alienated conservatives by abandoning Nationalist Taiwan. President Carter signs the Middle East Peace Treaty with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin The Limits of Global Power A brief thaw in the Cold War with the signing of SALT II was temporary, as the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in December 1978. Carter cut off grain shipments to Russia and supported Afghan resistance with arms, but no direct involvement. The Iran Hostage Crisis In 1978 Islamic radicals overthrew America’s longtime client, the shah of Iran Carter’s decision to allow the deposed shah of Iran to enter the country for medical treatment backfired as Iranian students seized the American embassy and held its personnel hostage. He tried diplomacy and at the same time an ill-fated rescue operation. Both failed. Iranians demonstrate outside the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, raising a poster with a caricature of President Carter. The Iran hostage crisis, which began November 8, 1979, when a mob of Iranians seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran, contributed to Carter’s defeat at the polls the following year. Fiftytwo embassy employees were held hostage for 444 days. The Iran Hostage Crisis As the hostage crisis dragged on and energy prices soared, Carter seemed increasingly inept. Only after Reagan’s inauguration were the hostages released. The New Right Phyllis Schlafly rallied her supporters in Springfield, Illinois, to demonstrate against the Equal Rights Amendment The Inaugurations of Carter and Reagan The New Right Economic and foreign policy failures mobilized “the politics of resentment.” Many whites resented higher taxes to fund programs for minorities, the poor while slowing economic development, doing nothing for middle class, poor whites Economic and foreign policy failures mobilized “the politics of resentment.” 1978: Proposition 13 cut property taxes, government revenues for social programs Old-style conservatives New Right. Evangelical or “born again” Protestants Neoconservatism Turning back the New Deal and Great Society in the mid-1970s. Neocons thought affirmative action and welfare programs had gone too far to promote equality of results. Vietnam Neocons called for stronger stand against communism and an activist foreign policy Heritage failure Foundation Promoted neocon views and won increasing popular support The Religious Right By the late 1970s, 50 million Americans identified themselves as evangelicals. The Religious Right brought together social conservatism and family values with political activism Popular televangelists promoted the evangelical message. Rev. Jerry Falwell formed the Moral Majority in 1979 to lobby for action, and soon attracted 2 to 3 million members. The Pro-Family Movement The New Right successfully blocked ratification of the ERA and rallied support for efforts to make abortions illegal. Roe v. Wade (1973) limited state regulation of abortion on grounds of “privacy.” Religious conservatives mobilized to oppose Roe with protests and a growing National Right to Life Committee. A small minority took violent action by bombing dozens of abortion clinics The Election of 1980 As the election of 1980 approached, unenthusiastic Democrats endorsed Carter for another term. The Republicans nominated Ronald Reagan, who asked voters, “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?” While some questioned Reagan’s credentials and competency, his attractive, confident and softspoken persona reassured many. Reagan won 50.9 percent of the vote but an overwhelming majority in the electoral college. White working people continued their shift to the Republicans but Reagan got little minority support and benefitted from low voter turnout to win. The Reagan Revolution Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan, the fortieth president of the United States, was known for his ability to articulate broad principles of government in a clear fashion. The most popular president since Dwight Eisenhower, he built a strong coalition of supporters from long-term Republicans, disillusioned Democrats, and evangelical Protestants. The Reagan Revolution Reagan became the most influential president since FDR as he reshaped politics. Ironically, Reagan had begun as a New Deal Democrat who admired Roosevelt as an inspirational leader. But by the time he entered the White House in 1981, before his seventieth birthday, Reagan had rejected the welfare state legacy of the New Deal era. “In the present crisis…government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem.” The Great Communicator Ronald Reagan credited his political success to his earlier acting career. As leader of the Screen Actors’ Guild in the 1950s Reagan supported the hunt for Hollywood subversives. Hosting General Electric Theater on TV led him in an increasingly conservative direction. As governor of California from 1967 to 1975 he cut state social spending and resisted student and civil rights activism. Reaganomics Based on a supply-side economic theory: A successful economy depended upon “the proliferation of the rich” Economic Largest tax cut in the nation’s history, benefitting the rich and corporations Omnibus Recovery Tax Act of 1981 Reconciliation Act of 1981 Deep cuts in social, cultural programs Reagan increased the defense budget, leading to massive deficits. The Election of 1984 In the 1984 election, Walter Mondale won the Democratic nomination by concentrating on the traditional Democratic constituencies. Reagan countered Mondale’s criticisms by claiming that the nation was strong, united, and prosperous. Although Mondale led in early polls, Reagan ran on themes of “hope, optimism and growth” and won in one of history’s biggest landslides. Recession, Recovery, Fiscal Crisis Early 1980s: Recession Mid-1980s: Economy grew and inflation was under control, due to Fed money policies and lower energy prices rather than supply side economics. Budget deficits grew to an unprecedented $2.7 trillion U.S. world’s leading debtor Securities industry scandals 1987: stock market crashed, ending the bull market of the 1980s. FIGURE 30.3 Federal Budget Deficit and National Debt, 1970–98 Best of Times, Worst of Times Best of Times, Worst of Times Reagan: in America . . .“someone can always get rich.” Ivan Boesky, later indicted for criminal trading, echoed Reagan, saying “greed is healthy.” Reagan: in America . . .“someone can always get rich.” Grimmer realities lay under the surface greater inequality, a shrinking middle class, poverty on the rise. After eight years of tax cuts, defense buildup, growing budget deficits, and record trade imbalances, the economic future looked uncertain at best, especially for the middle class. A Two-Tiered Society While the 1980s celebrated wealth and moneymaking, the gap between rich and poor widened. During the 1980s, the average weekly earnings declined substantially. Half the new jobs did not pay enough to keep a family out of poverty. Race sharply defined the gap between rich and poor. Supreme Court rulings limited affirmative action and busing to integrate schools, limiting minority opportunities but appealing to conservatives. TABLE 30.1 Percentage Share of Aggregate Family Income, 1980-92 TABLE 30.2 Share of Total Net Worth of American Families TABLE 30.3 Measures of Average Earnings, 1980-92 (In 1990 Dollars) TABLE 30.4 Number of Poor, Rate of Poverty and Poverty Line, 1979-92 TABLE 30.5 Net New Job Creation by Wage Level, 1979-87 TABLE 30.6 Median Family Income and Ratio to White, by Race, and Hispanic Origin, 1980-92 (in 1992 Dollars) The Feminization of Poverty Women experienced declining earning power during this period. Divorce contributed significantly to female poverty—new no-fault divorce laws and men who failed to pay child support. A sharp rise in teenage pregnancy also contributed. By 1980, half of black babies were born to single parent mothers. Sunbelt/Rustbelt The Sunbelt from Florida to California continued to benefit from defense industries and retirees’ Social Security payments. Cities in the Sunbelt like Houston, Las Vegas and Phoenix grew while Northeastern and Midwestern cities stagnated or shrank. While Sunbelt states invested on police, roads and suburban services, Rustbelt states lost manufacturing jobs and family farms. FIGURE 30.4 Growth of Sunbelt Cities, 1940–80 Epidemics: Drugs, AIDS, Homelessness The 1980s saw new epidemics erupt. Cocaine and inner-city crack use spiraled, unleashing a crime wave. The Reagan administration declared a war on drugs, but concentrated its resources on the overseas supply and did little to control demand at home. In May 1987, members of the Lesbian and Gay Community Services in downtown Manhattan organized ACT-UP. Protesting what they perceived to be the Reagan administration’s mismanagement of the AIDS crisis, they used nonviolent direct action, which often took the form of dramatic acts of civil disobedience. ACT-UP grew to more than seventy chapters in the United States and around the world. Epidemics: Drugs, AIDS, Homelessness In 1981, doctors identified a puzzling disease initially found among gay men—AIDS. Reagan ignored the issue and refused research funding. An epidemic of homelessness grew during the decade with 3 million mental patients, addicts, veterans with PTSD and poor single mothers and elderly on the streets. Toward a New World Order This photograph shows demonstrators defiantly tearing down the Berlin Wall In August 1961, the border between East and West Berlin was closed, and the Berlin Wall was built to divide the city into two sections. After twenty-eight years, on November 9, 1989, the government in East Germany lifted travel restrictions. This photograph shows demonstrators defiantly tearing down the Berlin Wall, which for three decades had embodied the political divisions of the Cold War. Toward a New World Order Reagan campaigned to restore America’s world leadership, reviving Cold War patriotism and championing American interventionism in the third world, especially in the Caribbean and Central America. His infusion of funds into national security programs would have enormous consequences for the domestic economy, even while internal changes within the Soviet Union made the entire Cold War framework of U.S. foreign policy largely irrelevant by the late 1980s. The Evil Empire Reagan made anti-communism the centerpiece of his foreign policy, calling the Soviet Union an “evil empire.” He called for a space-based “Star Wars” missile defense system that many saw as an effort to achieve a first-strike capability, but critics claimed was unworkable and too expensive. Attempts at meaningful arms control stalled and Soviet-American relations deteriorated. MAP 30.5 The United States in Central America, 1978–90 The Reagan Doctrine The Reagan Doctrine recommitted America to opposing communism by overt or covert means. In Afghanistan, support for mujahedeen contributed to the Soviet defeat. Reagan intervened in Grenada, E1 Salvador, and waged a covert war against the revolutionary government of Nicaragua even after Congress banned such funding with the Boland Amendment. MAP 30.6 The United States in the Middle East in the 1980s The Middle East and the Iran-Contra Scandal The volatility of the Middle East influenced U. S. foreign policy. In 1986, news broke of how the United States traded arms to Iran in return for their assistance in freeing hostages held by terrorist groups. The money from the arms sales was used to fund the Contras in Nicaragua. The Iran-Contra Scandal Oliver North, who ran the enterprise, acknowledged that he had told a web of lies and destroyed evidence, all in the name of patriotism. An investigating commission concluded that Reagan had allowed a small, unsupervised group to run the operation. In 1992, outgoing President George Bush, whose involvement had been the target of much speculation, pardoned several officials who were scheduled to be tried. Lt. Col. Oliver North, who once described the scheme to sell arms to Iran to help the Contras as a “neat idea,” is shown testifying in July 1987 before a joint Congressional committee formed to investigate the IranContra affair. The Collapse of Communism In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in the Soviet Union and instituted a series of political and economic reforms. Democratic movements swept across Eastern Europe from Poland to Bulgaria. The 1989 fall of the Berlin wall led to the collapse of East Germany and German reunification by 1990. The Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. This ended the great superpower rivalry. “A Kinder Gentler Nation” A Kindler, Gentler Nation In 1988, Republican candidate George Herbert Walker Bush hoped to ride on Reagan’s coattails and also made strong pledge to voters: “Read my lips: no new taxes.” Winning the general election handily over Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis with forty out of fifty states and 56 percent of the popular vote, he began to move away from Reagan. In his inaugural address, Bush, promising a “kinder, gentler nation.” Reagan’s Successor: George H. W. Bush Bush carried over several policies from Reagan’s administration including the war on drugs. In 1989 Bush sent the military to depose and arrest Panamanian leader Noriega and return him to the U.S. for trial on charges of drug trafficking and racketeering. Bush described himself as a “compassionate” Republican in social policy, but had a mixed record, supporting the ADA but blocking other programs. The Persian Gulf War Ideological rivalry shifted to the Middle East. Iraq seized oil fields in Kuwait and the U.S. responded swiftly. U.S. air strikes lasted 42 days, the ground war 100 hours and victory was swift. Saddam Hussein remained in power despite CIA efforts to foment an uprising The war, however, intensified Muslim hatred of the United States and inspired Osama bin Laden to start al Qaeda, and anti-American terror group. The Economy and the Election of 1992 The Persian Gulf War swelled Bush’s popularity, but an economic downturn soon dropped his approval rating to just 51 percent. He faced a formidable opponent in Bill Clinton, a young, intelligent and charismatic “New Democrat.” Ross Perot’s third party candidacy called for a businesslike approach to government and won 19% of the vote. Clinton adopted many conservative themes and took 43% of the popular vote and carried 32 states. Conclusion The Conservative Ascendancy, 1974–1991 Building on the trauma of Vietnam and deepening anxiety over social and cultural change, Ronald Reagan led an ideologicallycharged conservative resurgence that rejected much of the legacy of the 1960s and turned to Christian fundamentalism, family values and economic individualism. Reagan’s military expenditures grew the government. Many celebrated Reagan as a return to what was best in America, economically and culturally, the breakdown of the safety net left many less secure.