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CHAPTER 30: THE CONSERVATIVE ASCENDENCY, 1974-1991 (QUESTIONS)

1. EVALUATE THE significance of the major population shifts in the United States from the

1940s through the 1970s. What was their impact on local and national politics?
2. HOW WERE the changes in population between 1970 and 1980 reflected in the American

economy?
3. WHY DID Ford pardon Nixon?

Did it cost him the election?

4. WHY WAS the 1970s dubbed the Me Decade?

Interpret the decline of liberalism and the rise of conservative political groups. How did these changes affect the outcome of presidential elections?
5. WAS THE Iran hostage crisis a turning point in American politics or only a thorn in Carters

reelection campaign? How did the Iran-Contra affect the Republicans?

6. DESCRIBE THE central philosophical assumptions behind Reagonomics.

What are the key policies by which it was implemented? To what extent were these policies a break with previous economic approaches?
7. WHAT ATTRACTED many Democratic voters to Ronald Reagan? 8. ANALYZE THE key structure factors underlying recent changes in American economic and

cultural life. Do you see any political solutions for the growth of poverty and inequality?
9. EVALUATE REAGANS foreign policy.

How did it differ from Carters approach to foreign affairs?

10. HOW DID U.S. involvement in Central America intensify during the Reagan Administration? 11. HOW DID U.S. involvement in the Middle East contribute to the tensions and outbreak of

war in the Middle East?

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CHAPTER 30: THE CONSERVATIVE ASCENDENCY, 1974-1991 ( RESPONSES)

1. Industrial decline in the Northeast coincided with an economic boom in the Sunbelt,

encouraging millions of Americans to head for warmer climates and better jobs. The Sunbelt states concentrated their tax and federal dollars on strengthening police forces, building roads or sanitation systems for expanding suburbs, and creating budget surpluses, in contrast to eastern and Midwestern states that continued to spend significantly on public housing, education, and mass transit.
2. The changes in population between 1970 and 1980 were reflected in the American

economy. The Sunbelt, for example, offered a showplace of American prosperity: with a huge outlay of federal fundsincluding defense spending and the allocation of Social Security fundsa large amount of immigrants and Americans from the depressed Northeast greatly increased the regions population. While manufacturing and agribusiness flourished, Southern cities reversed the century-long trend of out-migration among African Americans. On the other hand, the sharp decline of industry caused the Snowbelt (or Rustbelt) states to severe losses.
3. Ford pardoned Nixon because he believed that the nation needed recovery, not revenge.

Unfortunately, the pardon reinforced public cynicism toward the government and Ford in particular. The effect of this could be seen in elections later that year, which added fifty-two Democrats to the House and four to the Senate. The pardon, along with the Watergate scandal, caused resentment toward the Republican party and cost Ford the election to the Democrat Jimmy Carter.
4. The 1970s was dubbed the Me Decade by novelist Tom Wolfe in 1976 in order to

describe an era obsessed with personal well-being and emotional security. This contributed to the publics belief that the president was no longer as devoted to caring for his nation. Evangelical Christians united behind conservative leaders to target specific issues that they believed further undermined what they termed traditional family values. These changes affected the outcome of presidential elections through T.V. ministries which frequently mixed conservative political messages with prayer and by tangling religion and the New Right with politics, a method used by Jesse Helms to win him the 1978 reelection campaign.
5. The Iran hostage crisis was a turning point in American politics because it did not only

doom his reelection; it also led to the victory of Ronald Reagan which then led to the Republican control of Senate. The Iran-Contra, which became the most popular scandal of Reagans Presidency, showed how the government was willing to ignore constitutional limitations in order to triumph.
6. The central philosophical assumptions behind Reagonomics was the supply-side economy

theory which assumed that the cut of taxes would motivate people to work, save, and invest. The key policies by which it was implemented was lowering of personal income tax rates, increase of defense spending, and deregulation of industry. Reagan wanted to make huge budget cuts on government spending on social programs, yet also increased military spending. Reagonomics was a sharp break from Keynesians (who traditionally favored moderate cuts,

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increases in government spending to stimulate the economy, and reducing unemployment during recessions) because it instead emphasized productivity.
7. Many Democratic voters were attracted to Ronald Reagan because he became a leader of

the anti-communist forces in Hollywood, distancing himself from New Deal Liberalism, and he became the host of General Electric Theater, where he made numerous speeches celebrating the achievements of corporate America and emphasizing the dangers of excessive liberalism and radical trade unions.
8. In the 1980s, a variety of measures strongly suggested that the nation had moved toward

greater inequality, that the middle class was shrinking, and that poverty was on the rise. President Reagans supply-side policies revitalized the economy but also widened the gap between rich and poor. The best political solution for the growth of poverty and inequality proposed in recent times is a policy taxing the rich.
9. Reagan campaigned to restore American leadership in world affairs and criticized Carter

for not protecting American interest in foreign affairs. He revived cold war patriotism and championed American interventionism in the third world, especially in the Caribbean and Central America. In the early 1980s, the Reagan administration made vigorous anti-Comunist rhetoric the centerpiece of his foreign policy. He followed the Reagan Doctrine which reasserted Americans rights to intervene anywhere to fight communist insurgency. In asharp turn from President Carters focus on human rights, Reagan described the Soviet Union as an evil empire the focus of evil in the modern world.
10. The U.S. involvement in Central America greatly intensified during the Reagan

Administration. Declaring the Vietnam Syndrome over, Reagan reasserted the right of U.S. to intervene anywhere to fight Communist insurgency. This, later caller the Reagan Doctrine, was found most importantly expressed in Central America, where the U.S. hoped to reestablish its historical control over the Caribbean basin. Military aid jumped from $6 million in 1980 to $82 million in 1982, and El Salvador received more U.S. economic assistance than any other Latin American country. Reagan escalated the undeclared war; the aim being both to overthrow the Sandinista regime to end Nicaraguan aid to El Salvador rebels.
11. The U.S. involvement in the Middle East contributed to the tensions and outbreak of war in

the Middle East by secretly negotiating with the revolutionary Iranian government, the U.S. offered sophisticated weapons in exchange for the secure release of American hostages. Some proceeds were used to illegally fund Nicaraguan Contras.