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Chapter 32 Review Joe Puccio
Key Terms
Contra- a Nicaraguan rebel, backed by the United States, who opposed the Sandinista government
Iran-contra affair- a scandal uncovered in 1986 that involved a secret arms deal with Iran and the diversion of money to support Nicaraguan rebels
Glasnost- Gorbachev’s policy of encouraging freedom of expression in the Soviet Union
Perestroika- Gorbachev’s plan for restructuring Soviet society
INF treaty- a 1987 agreement between the Soviet Union and the United States calling for the elimination of all intermediate-range nuclear forces in Europe
Strategic Defense Initiative- President Reagan’s 1983 proposal for a research program to devise a defense against nuclear attacks
Supply-side economics- the belief that a reduction in taxes will stimulate investment and productivity
Reaganomics- the Reagan administration’s economic policies of budget cuts, tax cuts, and increased defense spending
New Right- the organizations and lobbying groups that supported conservative causes during the 1970s and 1980s
Moral Majority- an organization formed by televangelist Jerry Falwell in 1979 to promote conservative causes
People To Identify
Mikhail Gorbachev
Geraldine Ferraro
Walter Mondale
Jeane Kirkpatrick
Sandra Day O’Connor
Jesse Jackson
Places To Locate
F
D
C
A
E
B
Reviewing the Facts
In the election of 1980, Ronald Reagan ran against Jimmy Carter. For a running mate, Reagan chose George Bush who was a former congressman, ambassador, and director of the CIA. They proposed to cut taxes, balance the budget, and increase defense spending. Carter ‘s failure to control inflation and his handling of foreign relations made him an easy target for the Republicans. To make things tougher for him, he also faced a Democratic challenge from Edward Kennedy, but he took the Democratic nomination. Carter tried to portray Reagan as a dangerous right-winger who might lead the United States into war, but ended up losing support for attacking him. On Election Day, 43 million Americans voted for Reagan. Carter lost by 8 million and only won in 5 states.
Reagan believed that increased productivity would solve most of the nation’s economic and social problems. With this in mind, he asked for tax cuts and less government regulation of business. He attempted to cut government spending by cutting back social programs.
In El Salvador, Communist-led rebels had been battling the government in a bloody civil war since 1979. Reagan responded by persuading Congress to send aid to the anti-Communist government. In 1979, a revolution had overthrown the Nicaraguan dictator, Anastasio Somoza. Once they were in power, the rebels (who called themselves Sandinistas) began to nationalize Nicaragua’s industries and welcomed aid from the Soviet Union and Cuba. In 1981, Reagan approved a secret CIA plan to arm, train, and support a group of anti-Sandinista Nicaraguans known as contras. By 1984, the contras had recruited an army of some 15,000 soldiers. On October 25, 1983, shortly after the marines were killed in Beirut, the United States launched a surprise invasion of Grenada. It was not planned to distract public attention from the disaster in Lebanon, but it did so anyway. This made Reagan “one of the luckiest Presidents in history”. Eventually, America gained control over Grenada and occupied it for about a year. Elections were held, and a pro-American government took office. Throughout the rest of his presidency, Reagan would point to Grenada as a great victory that helped restore American pride.
In June, 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon to drive out forces of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which formed to create an independent Palestinian state in Israel in 1964. From bases in southern Lebanon, PLO had made terrorist raids across the border into Israel. Reagan became upset as civilian casualties mounted and called Israeli leader Menachem Begin and said “I want it stopped and I want it stopped now”. Within five days, a ceasefire was worked out between Israel and the PLO. In 1982, Reagan ordered several thousand marines into Lebanon to remain there while the United States tried to work out a lasting peace for the nation.
The new assertiveness by the United States helped heighten Soviet-American tension during the 1980s. Actions by the Soviet Union also led to what was called the revival of the cold war. Soviet troops tried to prop up the Communist government of Afghanistan and anti-Communist rebels tried to overthrow it, as the brutal war in Afghanistan dragged on. The Soviets also moved to bolster the Communist government in Poland. In 1981, under the threat of direct Soviet intervention, the Polish government declared martial law that outlawed Solidarity and forced the labor movement underground. Reagan responded with new trade restrictions against the Soviet Union and Poland. In September, 1983, a Soviet fighter plane shot down a Korean airliner that had stayed over Soviet airspace. All passengers were killed, including 61 Americans, among them a member of Congress. The American government accused them of cold-blooded murder. When the Soviets refused to make reparations, relations with the United States grew even worse.
By the 1980s, there were between 2 and 3 million homeless people in the United States. In the 1970s, there was a movement to re-integrate into society those people who were not severely handicapped, but many people were unable to find housing and ended up on the streets. The main reason that people became homeless was because the government was cutting back on its support for low-cost housing. This forced many families from their homes because they couldn’t afford them. As the problem of homelessness gained attention, thousands of Americans pitched in to provide food and shelter. This inspired Congress to pass the 1987 Emergency Homeless Act, which provided almost a billion dollars for relief programs.
Reagan believed that environmental regulations placed too heavy a burden on industry, raising costs and lowering productivity. He argued that the United States could become less dependent on foreign sources of energy. His first Secretary of the Interior, James Watt, believed this as well and went to Washington with the slogan “Open the Wilderness”. This declared that Americans “will mine more, drill more, cut more timber to use our resources rather than simply keeping them locked up”. Anne Burford, appointed head of the Environmental Protection Agency, believed in letting local governments make environmental decisions.
In the 1984 elections, much of Reagan’s popularity came from his style of leadership. Although he did not always handle specific questions well, he was a master at expressing general themes. He also had the added advantage of a recovering economy.
The Iran-contra affair was a scandal uncovered in 1986 that involved a secret arms deal with Iran and the diversion of money to support Nicaraguan rebels. In the days after the story first broke, Oliver North, his boss John Poindexter, and former National Security Adviser Robert McFarlane destroyed evidence. They also altered documents and invented stories to conceal the truth. Their cover-up actions made it impossible to learn the whole story.
The Iran-contra scandal plagued Reagan during his second term, but improved relations with the Soviet Union and an arms-reduction agreement were a triumph for his foreign policy.
Critical Thinking Skills
High popularity help presidents pass legislation by putting pressure on members of the house since they are elected by the people if they go against their will then they are in danger of not being re-elected.
I don’t think it was. Not because it was a bad cause or anything, but because I don’t think the US was in any position to be doing that.
“Old patriotism” faded because the American people lost faith in their government. They lost it because of how poorly they were treated by it and all the scandals it caused.
A widening gap between the rich and poor is troublesome because of how many people that leaves poor. If there are lots of rich people it means that there are many many more poor people.