America: Pathways to the Present Text

America: Pathways to the Present | Chapter 26: The Conservative Revolution (1980–1992)

This chapter explores the rise of the conservative movement that had been trying since the FDR administration to cut government growth and preserve traditional values. The chapter is divided into four sections: Roots of the New Conservatism, the Regan Revolution, Regan’s Second Term, and the George H. W. Bush Presidency.

Section 1: The Roots of the New Conservatism

Main Idea

  • The conservative movement begun under FDR gained new strength in the 1970s and brought Ronald Reagan to the presidency in 1980.

Summary and Analysis
The election of Ronald Reagan marked a significant shift in American domestic policy, but the call for change did not develop overnight. Ever since the enactment of the New Deal by FDR, there had been those who opposed the expansion of government and the accompanying erosion of private-property rights. It was these conservatives who successfully opposed FDR’s attempt to pack the Supreme Court with new justices. However, conservative successes were few and far between. The Democrats held the presidency for twenty years, and Republican Dwight Eisenhower did nothing to control the growth of federal bureaucracy. When Barry Goldwater ran on a conservative platform in 1964, he lost in a landslide, but the 1960s and 1970s gave new life to the conservative movement. First it became clear that Johnson’s social programs were costing billions and not providing what they had promised. Further, social issues began to concern conservatives as many were troubled by the increased drug use in American society and the violence of student protests. The 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion was a flash point for galvanizing conservatives to work together. Conservatives were also concerned with the growing divorce rate, which they blamed on the women’s movement and the decline of the traditional family. In addition, a backlash against affirmative action programs, which some Americans felt promoted reverse discrimination against white males, caused many blue-collar Democrats to support Reagan. These Reagan Democrats helped to bring about Reagan’s landslide victory in the 1980 presidential election. Reagan was also helped by the support of Christian televangelists who reached millions and by Carter’s inability to resolve the Iran Hostage Crisis. Reagan won the election by 489 electoral votes to Carter’s mere 49 electoral votes.

Section 2: The Reagan Revolution

Main Ideas

  • Reagan revolutionized federal economic policy by slashing taxes and eliminating unnecessary government programs.
  • Reagan also increased defense spending, greatly increasing the strength of the American military.

Summary and Analysis
Reagan made three promises in his presidential campaign. He would increase the military strength of our country, he would get rid of expensive and unnecessary government programs, and he would slash taxes. Reagan believed that the way to revitalize the economy was to cut taxes so that individuals and companies would have both the money and incentive to expand production. This policy is called supply-side economics. Reagan oversaw a dramatic cut in taxes, cutting them over 25% in his first term and setting in motion the most sweeping tax reform in history during his second term. This reform closed loopholes that allowed some to avoid paying taxes and simplified the tax system. Reagan also cut government regulation of industry and challenged the power of labor unions. He tried to slow federal growth by attacking some of the programs of Johnson’s Great Society, reducing unemployment compensation, eliminating unnecessary federal jobs, lowering welfare benefits, and raising fees for Medicare patients. Still the cost of these programs grew each year as more Americans took advantage of them. Reagan also continued Nixon’s New Federalism policy of turning federal programs over to state control. During Reagan’s first two years in office, the economic troubles of the country continued, but as the recession’s higher interest rates slowed down inflation and Reagan’s tax cuts took effect, consumer spending increased and unemployment began to shrink. Unfortunately, the federal deficit continued to rise, reaching $221 billion in 1986.

In foreign policy, Reagan wanted to defend American interests in the Cold War. Calling the Soviet Union an “evil empire,” he wanted to strengthen the U.S. military. One of the main programs was the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), the development of a massive satellite shield to intercept Soviet missiles. Reagan also dealt with the withdrawal of American peacekeeping troops in Lebanon after a terrorist attack killed 241 Americans. He bombed Libya for sponsoring terrorist attacks against the United States, and he supported forces against Communism in Latin America even when this meant aiding a repressive regime.

Section 3: Reagan’s Second Term

Main Ideas

  • A decisive reelection victory demonstrated the country’s support of Reagan’s conservative programs.
  • Reagan improved relations between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Summary and Analysis
Reagan won his second term in a decisive victory against Walter Mondale and his running mate, Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman ever on a major party presidential ticket. He used his second term to increase Americans’ pride in their nation through such events as the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, the centennial of the Statue of Liberty, and the 200th anniversary of the Constitution. Reagan also oversaw a continuation of the social debates of the past decades, including debates on civil rights, women’s rights, and the rights of homosexuals. Reagan generally stood with conservatives on these issues and appointed conservative judges to federal courts as well as to the Supreme Court. His Supreme Court appointments included Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman appointed to the Court.

The economy was undergoing great changes during the second half of the 1980s. First was a farm crisis caused by falling prices. Congress sought to ease the plight by buying surplus produce, but this was a temporary solution at best. A second change was a decline in heavy manufacturing as the economy shifted away from these industries. Thousands upon thousands of highly paid factory workers lost their jobs permanently and had to look for work in lower paying fields. Finally, America saw the most unequal distribution of wealth since the end of World War II. Wealthy Americans got wealthier at a huge rate while poorer Americans saw a much slower growth in income. In many families, both spouses needed to work in order to keep up with rising prices and stagnant wages. Although Reagan attempted to cut back government social spending, the payments for Medicaid and other programs continued to grow at an alarming rate.

Reagan’s strong relationship with Mikhail Gorbachev brought a great easing of tensions between the Soviet Union after 1985. They agreed on the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 1987 calling for the destruction of 2,500 nuclear missiles in Europe.

Section 4: The George H. W. Bush Presidency

Main Idea

    [bullet] George H. W. Bush had notable success in foreign affairs, but his inability to deal with domestic issues, including a recession in the early 1990s, eroded his support.

Summary and Analysis
After a difficult election battle on domestic issues with Democratic Party candidate Michael Dukakis, George H. W. Bush oversaw the country through some of the most exciting foreign policy developments since World War II. First, he led the country through the end of the Cold War. Mikhail Gorbachev’s policies of glasnost (political openness) and perestroika (economic restructuring) were the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union. Poland broke free of the Communist yoke in 1988, and by 1989 the Berlin Wall had fallen, paving the way for the reunification of Germany within the year. By the end of 1991, Gorbachev resigned as the president of the Soviet Union and almost immediately the Union ceased to exist. Bush negotiated first with Gorbachev and later with Russia’s new president, Boris Yeltsin, for an end to the Cold War. This end was symbolized by agreements limiting military buildup and by the first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which called for a dramatic reduction in each nation’s supply of nuclear arms.

The U.S. was now clearly the only world superpower. President Bush believed that this gave the United States a new responsibility to its allies and to the world. Several international events showed his strong response to this challenge. After the brutal attack on a student demonstration in The People’s Republic of China at Tiananmen Square, Bush chose to negotiate quietly rather than publicly attacking China in order to preserve international peace. This upset many who felt he did not care about human rights, but it maintained a good relationship with China. However, in the case of Panama and later in the Persian Gulf War, Bush showed stronger and more decisive action, first attacking Panama and its leader Manuel Noriega for smuggling cocaine into the United States. Noriega was captured and tried for drug trafficking in American courts. The Persian Gulf War began when Iraq’s Saddam Hussein invaded the neighboring country of Kuwait. President Bush worked through the United Nations to mobilize an international force to push Iraq out of Kuwait. “Operation Desert Storm” began in January 1991 and liberated Kuwait in only six weeks.

Despite these successes and a post Desert Storm approval rating of 89%, Bush could not address domestic problems in the United States. Bush caused a great deal of controversy by nominating conservative African American
Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court. Accused of sexual misconduct, Thomas was eventually approved by the Senate, but the incident hurt Bush in the eyes of the public. The recession of the early 1990s, sparked by increasing energy costs after the Persian Gulf War and a cut in defense spending, also contributed to his unpopularity. These issues helped bring Bill Clinton to the presidency in 1992.

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