President Ronald Reagan Reaganomics SupplySide Economics Provided businesses
President Ronald Reagan
Reaganomics – Supply-Side Economics • Provided businesses incentives to increase the supply of goods and services • Lowered taxes – People saved more and invested their savings – Companies produced more and hired more workers • Tax cuts benefited the rich more than the poor – Widened the gap between rich and poor
Reaganomics - Deregulation Pros Cons • Increased business competition • Businesses were more profitable • Passed savings onto their customers • Lowered standards on air and water quality • Weakened worker safety laws
Reaganomics – Reductions in Social Welfare • Reagan believed that welfare trapped people in a cycle of poverty and dependence on government aid • Hurt the poor and forced cities to reduce services to those in need • Most affected: – Single moms with young children – Young adults
Anti-Drug Campaign • Taught about the dangers of illegal drugs – D. A. R. E and “Just Say No” • Decreased drug use among high school seniors • Failed to decrease use among urban poor and minority youths • Did not support treatment for addicts
New Jersey v. TLO • A student was suspected of carrying drugs in her purse. Her purse was searched and she was suspended for having drugs on campus. • The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the school district. – Schools needed to be able to maintain discipline and ensure student safety – Denied students equal protection under the law
Appointment of Sandra Day O’Connor • Born in El Paso, Texas • When she first graduated from law school, she couldn’t not find a job as a lawyer because of gender discrimination • In 1981, President Reagan nominated Sandra Day O’Connor as the first women Supreme Court Justice • Reagan appointed O’Connor as a response to the feminist movement and his administration's stance on Roe v. Wade • During her early years as a Justice O’Connor was conservative, but later served as the swing vote between liberals and conservatives.
Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars) • Led to the largest peacetime military build -up in history • Goal: build a “missile shield” to protect the U. S. from nuclear attack • Included both landbased and space-based weapons
Reagan Doctrine • What is the Reagan Doctrine? • Central America • Nicaragua • U. S. trained and armed an insurgent group called the Contras to overthrow the communist Sandinista government • Continue covert actions even after Congress no longer approved • El Salvador • Supported the military, which carried out huge human rights violations • Caribbean Islands - Grenada • U. S. sent Marines to Grenada to expel the communist leaning regime • Most people in Grenada supported U. S. intervention, but most of the rest of the world disapproved
Reagan Doctrine and Star Wars • http: //player. discoveryeducation. com/index. c fm? guid. Asset. Id=A 7 A 91976 -617 F-4 B 62 -8 D 662 A 4 C 6 A 40710 D&bln. From. Search=1&productc ode=US
U. S. Intervention in Southwest Asia Reagan Doctrine • U. S. aided countries, such as, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon • Civil War in Lebanon – The U. S. , France, and Italy sent in peacekeeping troops – Many people living in the region did not approve of outside intervention • Bombed the U. S. embassy in Lebanon – Terrorist attacks continued, so the U. S. , Italy, and France withdrew their troops – Terrorist attacks continued despite troop withdrawal
Iran-Contra Affair • U. S. was illegally selling arms to Iran, to try and get hostages released • Americans were shocked because Reagan had vowed “never to deal with terrorists” • Money was also used to supply Contras in Nicaragua, which was a violation of U. S. law • There is some evidence that Reagan did not know what was going on
Summit Meetings and INF Treaty • Gorbachev became Premier of Russia – Introduced perestroika (economic restructuring) and glasnost (openness) • Summit Meetings – Reagan and Gorbachev meet at a serious of different locations over the time span of several years – Talks stalled for various reasons at various times • Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty – Destroy missiles ranging between 300 and 3, 400 miles – Countries could inspect each other
Communism and Eastern Europe • 1989 Gorbachev announced the Soviet Union would no longer take part in the internal affairs of other countries • With this announcement communism fell across Eastern Europe • Berlin Wall falls in 1989/1990 – https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=-9 VKVt 4 yuh. I – http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Yt. Ydjbp. Bk 6 A • Development of Nation States – Eastern Europe started to create nation states, countries whose population share a common
Reagan and the End of the Cold War
Communism in Other Countries • Cuba, Vietnam, North Korea, and China • Vietnam – Began to embrace a mixed economy – Improved relations with the U. S. and other Western Nations • North Korea – Remained isolated and rigidly controlled • China – Some economic change but no political change – Tiananmen Square Incident
Political Cartoon Analysis • Using your notes, decide which cartoon(s) relate to what event you just learned about. Label each cartoon with the event • For each cartoon, answer this question: Does this cartoonist believe the effects of President Reagan’s foreign policy actions were mostly positive or mostly negative? Explain your answer.
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