1. From the “Age of Limits” to the Age of
Reagan
By: Kevin Gamarra,
Armida Villalon,
Jeremy Tayag

2. The Ford Custodianship
● President Ford tried to rebuild
confidence among the masses after
the Watergate Scandals.
● He granted Richard Nixon pardon
for any crimes he had committed
during his presidency.
● The Ford Administration was not as
successful, he sought to curb
inflation.
● He dealt with a recession in 1974-
1975.
● SALT II, President Ford met with
Soviet premier and signed an arms
control.

3. The Election of 1976

4. The Trials of Jimmy Carter
● He entered his presidency during a
recession.
● His agenda included major reforms of
the tax and welfare systems.
● He sought to reduce unemployment by
raising public spending and cutting
federal taxes.
● By 1980, interest rates had exceeded
20%.
● He then delivered the "malaise speech,"
which in turn fueled charges that the
president was blaming problems on the
American people.

5. Human Rights and
National Interests
● President Carter called for the defense of “human rights” in
order to replace the pursuit of “selfish interest.”
● Carter was able to arrange a peace treaty with Egypt and
Israel.
● On March 26, 1979, Egyptian President, Anwar Sadat and
Israeli prime minister, Menachem Begin signed the Camp
David Accords.
● In 1979, Carter was able to draft the new SALT II arms
control agreement, which limited the number missiles,
bombers, etc...

6. Iranian Revolution
● Iranians despised the Shah's
autocratic rule.
● In Jan. 1979, the Shah fled
Iran.
● In Nov. 4, a mob invaded
the American embassy in
Tehran.
● After the Hostage capture,
Soviets invaded
Afghanistan.
● "The gravest threat to world
peace since WWII."

7. The Rise of the
New American
Right

8. The Sunbelt and it's Politics
● Sunbelt: the Southeast
(Florida), the Southwest
(Texas), and California
● Produced a change in the
political climate
● Westerners embraced "rugged
individualism"
● Sagebush Rebellion: Occurred
in the late 1970s, conservatives
opposed environmental laws
and restrictions.
● Portrayed the West as a victim
of government control.

9. Religious Politics
● A religious revival
occurred which was more
powerful than the 2nd
Great Awakening.
● Revival of evangelical
Christianity
● Christian evangelicals
became active in political
and cultural right.
● Roe v. Wade: issue with
abortion

10. The New Right
● New Right: a movement that believed
environmental pursuits were hurting international
business
- 1970s right-wing think tanks, consulting firms,
schools, etc.
● Ronald Reagan supported this movement after
his second marriage, to Nancy Davis.
● 1966, Reagan won the first two terms as
governor of CA
● Presidency of Gerald Ford
- Nelson Rockefeller (vice president)

11. The Tax Revolt
● 1978, Howard Jarvis launched the first successful
citizen's tax revolt
● Resolved the struggle to stop and reverse the
growth of the federal government
-directly attacking gov't did not attract much
support
-Large and expensive programs: Social Security,
Medicare

12. The Campaign of 1980
● Jimmy Carter had political trouble
● Senator Edward Kennedy challenged Jimmy
Carter
● Republican Party supported Ronald Reagan
- link campaign with tax revolts and restoration
● Election day 1980, Reagan won
- Republican Party won control for Senate
● Reagan's inauguration
- American hostages in Iran...released after the
444-day ordeal

13. The Campaign of 1980 cont.

14. The "Reagan Revolution"

15. The Reagan Coalition
● Powerful coalition of conservative groups helped
Reagan's election
- Corporate Elites
~wealthy Americans
- Neo-conservatives
~intellectuals, "opinion leaders"
● CE and NC joined an alliance in 1980 with the
New Right
- differentiated with the distrust of the "eastern
establishment"

16. Reagan in the White House
● Reagan had a sharp public
image
● Ronald Reagan was the oldest
man to serve as president
-1981, assassination attempt
● Not very involved with day-to-
day affairs
-administrators insulated him

17. "Supply-Side" Economics
● Supply-side economics/Reaganomics
-worked towards troubles of the American economy.
-solution:
Reduce taxes Reduces gov't revenues Reduce gov't expenses
● First proposed $40 billion in budget reduction
● Getting government out of the way promised to ensure economic
revival (Reagan officials)
● 1982- severe recession but by late 1983 economy recovered
● Recovery led to the result of many things
- Tight money policies by FRB helped lower inflation
- Lowered interest rates by late 1983

18. The Fiscal Crisis
● Mid-1980s, fiscal crisis became a central issue in American
politics
● Enormous deficit had many causes
- Budget suffered from large increases in the costs of "entitlement"
programs
- 1981 tax cuts
- Massive increase in military spending
● Administration's answer- further cuts in "discretionary"
domestic spending
- Reduction in funding for food
- Major cut in federal grant for low-income housing

19. Reagan and the World
● Determined to restore American
pride and prestige
● Soviet Regime - "evil empire"
● Strategic Defense Initiative
(SDI)
- use of lasers and satellites
- provide an effective shield against
incoming missiles
● Nuclear Freeze
● Reagan Doctrine - a new
American activism in the Third
World

20. Reagan and the World Cont.
● October 1982, administration sent troops into the Caribbean island
of Grenada
● Nicaragua, pro-American dictatorship had fallen to the
revolutionary "Sandinistas" (1979)
- Reagan administration supports contras
● June 1982, Israeli army invades Lebanon
- Changes the character of Third World struggles
- increase reliance on terrorism

21. The Election of 1984

22. The Election of 1984 cont.
● Republican Candidate: Ronald Reagan
● Democratic Candidate: Walter Mondale
● Geraldine Ferraro: first female candidate to be on
a national ticket.
● Reagan won but Democrats still controlled the
House of Representatives.

23. The Fall of the Soviet Union
● Mikhail Gorbachev:
○ glasnost(openness): called for
increased openness and
transparency in government
institutions and activities in the
Soviet Union
○ perestroika (reform): an effort to
restructure the Soviet economy
with elements of Capitalism.
● By 1989, every communist state in
Europe was able to free itself from
communism.
● Massacre in Tiananmen Square, Beijing
● South African government began to
repeal apartheid laws in 1990.
● Gorbachev resigned on August
19,1991.

24. Reagan and Gorbachev
● Gorbachev proposed to reduce
the nuclear arsenals of both
sides by 50 percent or more in
a summit meeting with Reagan
in 1986.
● They signed a treaty
eliminating American and
Soviet intermediate-range
nuclear forces (INF) from
Europe in 1988.
● Gorbachev ended Soviet Union
military involvement in
Afghanistan.

25. The Fading of the Reagan Revolution
● There were revelations of illegality, corruption,
and ethical lapses in departments handled by the
Reagan administration.
● In November 1986, the White House conceded
that it sold weapons to the revolutionary
government of Iran.
● Some of the money from the arms deal with Iran
was revealed to have been illegally funneled into
a fund to aid the contras in Nicaragua.

26. The Election of 1988

27. The Election of 1988 Cont.
● Democrats regained control of Senate in 1986.
● Democrat Candidate: Michael Dukakis
● Republican Candidate: George Bush
● Bush used a verbal attack on Dukakis to spark
public enthusiasm.
● Bush wins!

28. The Bush Presidency
● Inherited the debt and
federal deficit that had
been growing for
nearly a decade
● Bush signed off on a
significant tax increase
in 1990.
● The Recession began
in 1990 and caused
many bankruptcies.

29. The First Gulf War
● The administration ordered an invasion of
Panama in 1989.
● Iraqi forces overwhelmed Kuwait on August
2,1990.
● U.S. and its allies began sending military forces
to the border between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
● U.S. began bombing Iraqi forces and using
ground troops.
● Iraq accepted terms for the cease-fire.

30. The Election of 1992

31. The Election of 1992 Cont.
● Not many people wanted to be the Democratic
candidate.
● Ross Perot was a popular independent candidate,
but dropped out for some time.
● Clinton won the election with 43 percent of the
vote.
● Democrats still in control of both houses of
Congress.