Warm Up 5-31
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Transcript of Warm Up 5-31
Warm Up 5-31
What do you know about President Ronald Reagan? Some people think he was the
bestest President ever Some think he was one of the
worst Presidents ever.
Election of 1980
Reagan wins a close elections to defeat Carter
Iran Hostage Crisis and the economy were key issues
Reagan and Carter had only one debate and Reagan revealed his excellent communication skills “the Great Communicator.”
Fun Fact: Some allege that someone on Reagan team stole Carters “Play Book” thus was able to counter every point during the debate
Who was Reagan?
Born and raised in the Midwest.
Became a “B movie” actor
Became President of the Screen Actors Guild (actors union)
Became Gov. of California as a Republican
Reagan’s Presidency
Very Symbolic of the 1980’s Back to strong anti-communist rhetoric Huge military build up that reignited the Arms
Race resulting in high tension between USSR and US, but led to end of Cold War
Dismantled or weakened the programs of the Great Society
Deregulation Weakened work safety Relaxed banking rules Relaxed environmental rules
Reagan was loved by some and loathed by others
Two Views of ReaganHero
Pulled US out of poor econ
Ended the Cold War
Re-established US military dominance
A great communicator and likable man who inspired Americans
Refocused the Conservative Movement which couldn’t win a major election
Villain
Econ policy favored the rich and powerful and hurt poor and middle class
Created a huge military build up that was dangerous and cost the US billions that we are still paying for
Incompetent president who had no control over his subordinates which led to several major scandals
Economic Policy
Supported “supply side economics” AKA Trickle Down econ. Theory: Cut taxes and reduce govt regulation on
Big Business will encourage industry to invest in themselves and hire workers, thus stimulating the econ. At the same time slash govt spending on federal programs
Bush #1 called this “voodoo economics”
Reduced rules for Big Business: Environment, monopoly laws, safety rules thus can spend more money on themselves and grow
Reagan Hero
Economy strengthened as with any econ policy it is debated on whether policy did it or was it outside forces (the global oil crisis ended resulting in a stronger world econ.)
Reagan Hero
Cold War ends: Reagan's military build up pushed the USSR’s econ to near collapse forcing them to break apart. Satellite states (Poland,
Czechoslovakia, Hungary and more) are freed
Germany in united
Reagan Hero
Inspired the flailing conservative movement
Was an excellent communicator (he was an actor) that even his political enemies liked him personally Fun Fact: Reagan loved Jelly Beans and
always had a jar on his desk and would offer to visitors. He even sent them to space on the shuttle as a surprise for the astronauts.
Reagan the Villain
Economic Policies: Rich became richer. The wealthy received
the biggest tax cuts while federal programs that aided the underserved were slashed.
Results: Drastic increase in homelessness Poverty rate went up Unemployment among blue collar
middle class grew Dereg. Of banks led to Savings and Loan
crisis Pollution increased dramatically
Reagan the Villain Military buildup:
Results: Drastic increase in budget deficits and huge National Debt 1981 deficit = $79
billion 1986 deficit = $221
billion National Debt
becomes a problem Large number of CIA
covert operations in Latin America and middle east
Reagan the Villain
Scandals – “Teflon President”
Iran Contra- Illegal selling of arms to Iran to use against Iraq (Iran our enemy, Iraq our friend) to free hostages. Using $ from sale to fund Contras in Nicaragua; also illegal Impeachable scandal Reagan denied all knowledge: Either lying,
incompetent, or early Alzheimer's
Others: Savings & Loan, HUD, Reports of graft
Scandal Results
Investigations, hearings and books from those within, painted a picture of a President who was uninformed, disengaged, and lacked leadership within his admin
Others view him as a victim of circumstance outside his control.
On the outside, his charm, wit, and positive rhetoric won people over.
Later diagnosed with Alzheimer's